Marzieh Hashemi is an American-Iranian journalist and television presenter. She is a natural-born citizen of the United States and a naturalized citizen of Iran employed by the country's Press TV. On January 15, 2019, Hashemi was arrested by the FBI while boarding a St. Louis flight to visit her children in Denver. The cause for her arrest was initially unknown, but according to subsequent court documents she was being held as a material witness for a federal investigation. Following testimony before a federal grand jury in Washington D.C., Hashemi was released on 23 January 2019.
Personal background
Hashemi was born in New Orleans, United States. She was born into a Christian African-American family. She was a student in the field of broadcasting in 1979, when the Iranian revolution happened, as a result of which she converted to Islam and began her career in Islamic newspapers and magazines in U.S. Since 2008, she has lived in Iran, where she is now a TV presenter, journalist, voice-over artist, and documentarian and the host of Press TV, Iran's English-language broadcasting network. She has said the main reason for her conversion was the Iranian revolution and the character of Ayatollah Khomeini. She changed her name to Marzieh Hashemi after conversion; Hashemi is her Muslim husband’s last name and she chose Marzieh, a title of Fatimah bint Muhammad, the daughter of an Islamic Prophet.
Arrest in the United States
According to Iranian sources, on January 13, 2019, she travelled to the United States to visit her family, particularly her ill brother. Marzieh was arrested at the St. Louis Lambert International Airport in Missouri and was being held in custody in Washington DC. The cause for her arrest was initially unknown, but according to subsequent court documents she was being held as a material witness for a federal investigation but "has not been accused of any crime". According to Reuters, a US government source told them that a grand jury was examining whether Press TV failed to register as a foreign agent which would be required if it is a propaganda outlet. Following testimony before a federal grand jury in Washington D.C., Hashemi was released on 23 January 2019, and returned to Iran on 30 January 2019. Iranian media claimed that, after 48 hours, she was allowed to make a call to inform her family. Press TV has said Hashemi was denied halal food, offered only pork to eat, and she has only eaten a packet of crackers since her detainment. It was further alleged that her hijab was forcibly removed and that she is only able to wear a short-sleeved shirt, again contrary to the requirements of her Muslim faith. Hashemi had criticized US discrimination against veiled Muslim women in the past. According to Adam Goldman of The New York Times, Hashemi is the "Individual A." cited in the unsealed indictment of Monica Witt, who is charged with espionage for Iran.
Peyman Jebelli, the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting ’s World Service, described the action a "blunder" and criticized her ill-treatment in US custody.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission wrote the UN Rapporteur on Arbitrary Detention with regard to Ms. Hashemi's imprisonment. IHRC condemned the journalist's arrest and "called for the widest media solidarity campaign" to help secure her release.
Rallies
After Marzieh Hashemi arrested in 13 January 2019 in USA and held 11 days without charge in custody in Washington DC, protest be held in 24 cities in world on January 25, to demand the release of Marzieh Hashemi.
Release
On Wednesday 24 January 2019 her family announced that "the US government has released Marzieh Hashemi without charge after 10 days of illegal detention".
Views
Ali- "his words are so intertwined with truth and beauty that when I read his Nahj al-Balagha, I feel a man beyond history is talking to me".
Women Rights- "Basically in materialist countries, the main injustice is happening to women. They believe that in all areas you should look at a woman as a commodity and a woman is only a means to entertain men."
Jews, Muslims, and the US media- "... invite Muslims to the roundtables and try to control what they want to be covered. For instance, they invite 2 or 3 people of their side and one Muslim and they surround him not to let him speak and justify and then they do some things to show that they are free dislike other parts of the world, they know how to do it very well. America has changed since 9/11, in past, they tried to conceal that the Medias are under control of Jews, but today all the people know about it, Muslims or non-Muslims, people are getting aware, they are really getting awake."
9/11- "As a simple example, 9/11, and it's obvious for everyone that Zionists are behind it, and the American people are helpless in front of them."
