“The last two years have been nothing but an Iran-bashing opportunity for the United States government and the mainstream media, over which it has such immense influence. The ongoing characterization of Iran as an evil-doer also stokes the fires of prejudice against Iranians and Iranian-Americans. … A number of Iranian political prisoners are held by America, some held in the United States and others held in Iraq. … In the United States, detention centers are, for many immigrants, a dead zone, where they lose a grip on their families and their futures. Some await official word for months or years. Contact with their families is – for many – nonexistent. Almost all of them suffer in anonymity, usually without a lawyer and any knowledge of their rights and means of recourse.”
— Shirin Sadeghi
