On October 15, Cal State Northridge grad student Esha Momeni, an Iranian-American, was arrested while driving in Tehran. I previously reported on her arrest last week (see my original diary on Esha here).
Esha is still being held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran. A press conference was held on Tuesday where the charges against Esha were finally read.
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A reminder:
Esha Momeni, an Iranian-American 28-year old graduate student studying arts and media at California State University, Northridge, was arrested on Wednesday October 15th in Tehran, Iran. Esha is a member and volunteer of the One Million Signatures Campaign--a grassroots movement that has emerged inside Iran demanding gender equality. She had flown out to Iran from Los Angeles in July to visit family and friends. While there she was also working on a film about the One Million Signatures Campaign to submit as her final graduating project at CSUN. Esha now sits in Iran's notorious Evin prison after being pulled over by police on the pretext of having made an illegal turn at an intersection. Authorities subsequently entered her parents' house and removed items such as books, camera footage, and computers. The authorities thus far have not mentioned to her parents or her lawyer what the charges are, if any.Members of the Campaign in both Iran and California are working tirelessly to spread the word about Esha's arrest, which comes as a surprise considering the fact that all she was doing was filming campaign members and those interested in gender related issues. It should be stressed that all her activities were in fact in accordance with the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran. --For Esha Blog
Esha's story has finally been picked up by multiple national news outlets. See MSNBC's video here and CNN's video here. The AP's story is here and Amnesty International's page on Esha is here.
In Tuesday's press conference, a spokesman for the the Iranian Judiciary, Alireza Jamshidi, confirmed that Esha is indeed being held in Evin Prison and has been charged with "acting against national security." So let me get this straight. She was pulled over while driving, was told she made an illegal driving manuver, was arrested, her house was searched and her computer confiscated, and now is being charged with acting against national security???
BULLSHIT.
Sign the petition to free Esha here.
Find out more about the One Million Signatures Campaign and Campaign for Equality here.