Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Iran Charges Three Iranian-Americans With Spying

Via VOANews.com -

Iran's judiciary says three Iranian-Americans detained in Iran have been "formally charged" with endangering national security and espionage.

A judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said the Intelligence Ministry filed the charges against Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh and journalist Parnaz Azima.

He did not announce any trial date for any of the three.

Esfandiari is the director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a Washington-based foundation. She has been held in a Tehran's Evin prison since May 8, after being prevented from leaving the country.

Tajbakhsh, who is an urban planning consultant affiliated with the New York City-based Open Society Institute, has been imprisoned in Tehran since May 11. Billionaire businessman George Soros established the institute to promote democracy and human rights.

Journalist Azima, who worked for the U.S. funded Radio Farda, was detained but released and barred from leaving the country.

All three have dual U.S.- Iranian citizenship.

Earlier this month, Iran claimed Esfandiari admitted under interrogation she was trying to establish an unofficial network to topple the Iranian government. The Wilson Center's director, former U.S. Congressman Lee Hamilton, denied that.

Iran also implicated George Soros's foundation in the alleged network to topple the Tehran government.

The U.S. State Department called Iran's accusations regarding Esfandiari "absurd."

Esfandiari and Azima were in Iran to visit their mothers.

Iran has also detained another Iranian-American woman, whose identity has not been revealed at the request of her family.

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No word on Bob...

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