Iran’s Judiciary Spokesperson Alireza Jamshidi said today that there were no obstacles preventing an Iranian-American student who was detained last month on security charges from leaving the country.
Esha Momeni was arrested on 15 October in Tehran and was accused of acting against national security. Momeni, a graduate student at California State University, Northridge, had traveled to Iran to conduct research on the women’s movement in that country.
“Ms Momeni is free on bail and there are no obstacles for her to leave the country,” Jamshidi was quoted by the Iran Labor News Agency [ILNA] as saying.
But she must return to Iran when she is due to appear before a court, Jamshidi added. According to the semi-official ISNA news agency, Jamshidi told reporters that he did not have information on her court date.
Her father, Gholamreza Momeni, said on 7 November that his daughter was released on $200,000 bail.
Momeni had interviewed activists affiliated with the One Million Signature Campaign for gender equality in Iran as part of an academic project, a statement on the campaign’s website said. Security forces arrested Momeni at her residence last month and confiscated video recordings after carrying out a search, the campaign’s website added.
Iran has over the past year arrested a number of activists affiliated with that campaign.
