Free Parnaz Azima

On January 25, 2007, officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran seized the passport of RFE/RL journalist Parnaz Azima, who was in that coutnry to visit her ailing and hospitalized mother.

Since that date, Iranian officials have held Ms. Azima—who holds dual Iranian and U.S. citizenship—under virtual house arrest and asked her to collaborate with Iran's intelligence services (an offer she has rejected). They have refused to relinquish her passport, telling her lawyer it would not be returned for "two or three years."

We strongly object to Iranian officials holding Parnaz Azima in Iran against her will and call on President Ahmadinejad and his government to allow her to leave the country so she can return to her work and most importantly, to her children and grandchildren.