Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Al Jazeera Reporter Freed

Although journalist Dorothy Parvaz disappeared upon her arrival in Syria last month, she was recently released and claims that she suffered no harm and was treated very well, despite being interrogated. Parvaz was researching antigovernmental protests, and Iranian officials claim that she violated several regulations. For instance, she traveled without a valid passport.

It is not unusual for Syria and Iran to restrict journalist access, and since the Syrian uprising in March, only a few foreign journalists have been allowed to travel freely in that country. Interestingly, at the end of last year, Iran had at least 34 reporters in custody, which is more than any other country in the world, with the exception of China.

Of course, her family and friends were very concerned about her wellbeing. On Wednesday, however, Parvaz's fiance, Todd Barker received a phonecall from her, during which she explained her circumstances and assured him that she was fine.

Read more about this in the original article here.

-Gracie Hollister

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