transcript

This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI's THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI's THE WORLD is the program audio.

LISA MULLINS: One woman is no longer being held in prison in Iran, but she's not allowed to leave the country, either. Graduate student Esha Momeni is an Iranian-American like Roxana Saberi. She was doing a video project on women in Iran when she was arrested there in October. The charge was “producing propaganda against the state”. Momeni was held in solitary confinement for 25 days in Evin prison in Tehran. That's where Roxana Saberi was held. Momeni was released on bail in November, but she is now forbidden to leave Iran. Hassan Hussein is engaged to marry Esha Momeni. He's now in Los Angeles. I'm guessing, Hassan, that you woke up to the news of Roxana Saberi's release. I'm wondering what your reaction was and what that mean for your fiancée, Esha's case?

HASSAN HUSSEIN: Well, I was really relieved to hear it -- but at the same time, when I read the report that said her father stated that she would be leaving in a couple of days, we were told the same thing for Esha. And those days became weeks and then those weeks became months. So I just hope they don't experience the same thing.

MULLINS: The weeks became months, and ultimately, your fiancée did not leave the country at all. She is still there?

HUSSEIN: She is still there, and she still does not have her passports. Both her American and Iranian passports were confiscated.

MULLINS: And she's living with her parents now?

HUSSEIN: She is living with her parents.

MULLINS: Why would they release Esha from jail if they did not want her to leave the country?

HUSSEIN: Well, we've asked ourselves that question several times, and honestly I don't know what the answer is. But it is a reality, and every attempt that we've made to try and overcome it hasn't been successful.

MULLINS: Esha was arrested when she was making a video about women in Iran. Among those that she apparently was able to get footage of were women who were part of this “1 Million Signature” campaign. This is a campaign aimed at changing laws to try and improve the status of women in Iran, to give them equal rights in terms of marriage and inheritance and other issues. How come this is so controversial?

HUSSEIN: Well, the campaign doesn't threaten the regime in any obvious way, in that it says that it basically wants to gather these signatures for a petition to present at the Parliament. And it doesn't have any sort of other political objectives whatsoever. But nonetheless, it is a grassroots movement that has a following among many different segments of the Iranian population. And that type of connection, I assume, is something that at least certain elements within the state were threatened by – just the simple filming or meeting of these people was enough to get arrested.

MULLINS: And she was doing this as part of her graduate work?

HUSSEIN: She was. And really the interesting thing is that what she wanted to do was to show that Iranian women are not – they don't fit the stereotype of Iranian women and Muslim women that you have in the United States. She wanted to show that people are much more active, much more dynamic, and aren't just sitting cowering at home – which you would think is something that the Iranian government would want to portray as well. So the irony in her arrest was exactly that: she was trying to work against the stereotype, but by arresting her, they actually reinforced that stereotype.

MULLINS: Have you spoken with Esha?

HUSSEIN: I have. We do speak on the phone. Our conversations are monitored, but we do speak regularly.

MULLINS: Does she know about Roxana Saberi's case?

HUSSEIN: She does. She did hear about it. She didn't know her personally, but she definitely could sympathize.

MULLINS: And do you believe that Roxana's release from prison might take the pressure off Iran for Esha's case? Do you think there might be any kind of repercussion for Esha?

HUSSEIN: I don't know. You know, it's very hard to predict what will happen. Both of these cases could have gone in very different directions. We really are just trying to just take it step by step and hope for the best.

MULLINS: Well, we wish her the best of luck, and Hassan Hussein, to you as well. Hassan Hussein is a graduate student in Los Angeles. His fiancee, Esha Momeni, is an Iranian-American student who is forbidden to leave Iran. Thank you very much for talking with us.

HUSSEIN: Thank you.

Copyright ©2008 PRI's THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI's THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World's Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.