CSUN Student Imprisoned in Iran Returns Home after 9 months

[cui bono]

CSUN Student Imprisoned in Iran Returns Home

KTLA News
7:44 AM PDT, August 15, 2009

NORTHRIDGE -- A Southern California college student who was held in a notorious Tehran prison and prohibited from leaving the country for nine months finally returned home.

Esha Momeni, a graduate student at Cal State Northridge, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday and was greeted by friends and family.

Momeni, who has dual citizenship in Iran and the United States, had been conducting research on Iran's women's rights movement.

She was arrested by Iranian police on Oct. 15, 2008 for a traffic violation.

But, according to a report by Amnesty International, Momeni didn't get a ticket, instead she was arrested and her home computer and other materials related to her research on the Iranian women's movement were confiscated.

Momeni, who is a member of the California branch of Change for Equality - an Iranian women's rights group - was later taken to Evin prison, the Tehran facility notorious for holding political prisoners, Amnesty said.

She was held in the political ward of the infamous prison for 25 days before she was released on $200,000 bail, paid with the deed to her parent's home, according to a news release on a website dedicated to her release.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-socal-coed-imprisoned-in-iran--116406,0,4409436.story