Iranian authorities release Parvaz
Seattle Times / Queenie Wong
17-May-2011 (one comment)

Missing journalist Dorothy Parvaz has been released by Iranian authorities and arrived in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday night Seattle time, according to her fiancé.

"The family and me are elated, and we're really grateful to the Iranian authorities who treated her very respectfully," said Todd Barker, Parvaz's fiancé. "It's over."

Barker said he received a call from Parvaz around 9:30 p.m. The first words she said to him were: "I'm so sorry." He said Parvaz should arrive in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday or the day after.

Parvaz, 39, works for the Qatar-based news agency Al Jazeera and has Canadian, Iranian and U.S. citizenship. She used her Iranian passport to enter Syria on April 29 and was detained at the airport in Damascus and hadn't been heard from since.

After several days of silence, Syrian embassy officials said last week that Parvaz had been sent to Iran after she'd attempted to illegally enter Syria on an expired Iranian passport. She'd given "tourism" as her reason for travel, Syrian embassy officials said, although the purpose of her trip was to cover the unrest in Syria for Al Jazeera.

Iran was silent on Parvaz's whereabouts until Tuesday when Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said she had committed several violations, but stopped short of admitting she was being held in Iran.

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yolanda

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by yolanda on

I am glad she is out of jail! Wow! One person with 3 passports! Amazing! Maybe it is a good thing! One country put you in jail, 2 countries fight for your release.......not sure if she has to pay tax to all three countries?