Iranian PressTV’s Marzieh Hashemi was arrested Sunday night at Lambert St. Louis Airport after entering the United States.
Marzieh Hashemi charged with spying for the Khomeiniist regime and assisting them to bypass sanctions.
Hashemi is a Muslim convert from New Orleans.
The Islamic State of Iran Crime Research Center reported on her arrest.
The 59 year old who is a native of New Orleans and was born Melanie Franklin, converted to Shia Islam and is said to spend much of her time in Iran.
“We condemn the illegal arrest of Marziyeh Hashemi, the reporter and presenter of Press TV, and the inhumane treatment of her in jail in Washington,” Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
Press TV broke into its broadcast on Wednesday to report her arrest, though according to Reporters Without Borders, The Khomeiniist regime itself is among the top 20 worst offenders for jailing journalists, with a ranking of 164th out of 180 countries.
The Iranian regime is very upset with her arrest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD6j8VYwJkU
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According to Press TV Hashemi’s children were subpoenaed to testify in the government’s case against their mother. Her son was upset that her hijab was removed during processing.
This is a transcription of what Hossein Hashemi said:
My name is Hossein Hashemi. I am the eldest son of Marzieh Hashemi, also known as Melanie Franklin. I just want to give an update from where we stand. Currently, the information that is available to us is that she has been detained as a material witness. There aren’t any charges against her. The officials have let us know that much in regard to her case. However, she is being detained in a Washington DC facility. It is a prison system. She has an inmate number and she is being held in a cell.
So, we have been very curious as to how someone who does not have any charges against them can be held in the circumstances. We were able to speak with her. My sister spoke with her last night. This is over 48 hours since she was detained, since she was apprehended that we made contact with her. Up until that time, we had very little information even about the fact that there were no charges and so forth.
She seemed OK. She was upset about the kind of treatment that she was receiving as a person who [faces] charges would be treated.
