FROM THE MOMENT Haleh Esfandiari was arrested and imprisoned by the government of Iran in May, her friends in high places in Washington rallied to her defense and demanded that she be released. Most notable among them was former representative Lee H. Hamilton, president of the Smithsonian Institution‘s Woodrow Wilson International Center, where Ms. Esfandiari is head of the Middle East program. She is known for championing dialogue between Iran and the United States. The accusation of “crimes against national security” by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry was bogus. She endured solitary confinement, endless hours of interrogation and pressure to confess to a plot to help spark a “velvet revolution” in the theocratic nation.
Ms. Esfandiari was released last month and arrived back at her home in Potomac last week. We celebrate her return and can imagine the relief and joy her family must feel. But our concern remains with the three people who have yet to return. Ali Shakeri, a California businessman, and Kian Tajbakhsh, an Open Society Institute consultant and social scientist, are being held in Evin Prison, where Ms. Esfandiari was jailed. And missing since a March visit to the Iranian duty-free zone of Kish Island is former FBI agent Robert A. Levinson.
Their plight must not be forgotten. Their imprisonment is further evidence that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad isn’t as desirous of the world’s respect as he persistently claims to be. If respect is what he wants, he’ll release Mr. Shakeri and Mr. Tajbakhsh immediately -- and he will end the mystery regarding Mr. Levinson’s whereabouts.
