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Al-Jazeera Journalist Freed from Iran

   VOA News  May 18, 2011
   Journalist Dorothy Parvaz

Photo: www.aljazeera.net

   Journalist Dorothy Parvaz

   The Al-Jazeera television network says one of its journalists who went
   missing as she traveled to cover anti-government unrest in Syria last
   month has safely returned to Qatar, the network's headquarters.
   The Arabic network says Dorothy Parvaz arrived in Doha on Wednesday and
   is in good health. Family members and her fiance, Todd Barker, say she
   was freed from Iran.
   Parvaz was last heard from on April 29 after she left Doha for
   Damascus.
   Syria was initially quiet on her fate. However, last week, Syrian
   authorities said they had sent her to Iran after she tried to enter
   Syria with an invalid Iranian passport. Parvaz holds Iranian, U.S. and
   Canadian citizenship.
   On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said
   it was "important" to Iran to determine what happened to Parvaz.
   However, he did not confirm that she was being held in the country.
   Mehmanparast did confirm Syrian accounts that Parvaz tried to enter
   Syria on an expired Iranian passport and planned to work in the country
   without a press permit.
   Syrian has banned nearly all foreign journalists from working in the
   country, as part of its efforts to crack down on the opposition
   protests that erupted in March.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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References

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