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Judge Frees Iranian Woman Convicted of US Sanctions Violation

Agence France-Presse

   WASHINGTON - An Iranian woman sentenced in the United States for
   violating sanctions against Tehran was released and has returned home,
   her lawyer told AFP Thursday, following her country's unsuccessful
   attempt at a prisoner swap.

   A judge in Minneapolis sentenced Negar Ghodskani to 27 months in prison
   Tuesday, but determined the time she had spent in custody in Australia
   and the United States was enough to fulfill her punishment.

   Ghodskani "is now free in Iran with her family," her lawyer Robert
   Richman said in an email.

   Arrested in Australia

   A legal resident of Australia, Ghodskani was arrested in Adelaide in
   2017 after U.S. prosecutors said she sought U.S. digital communications
   technology by presenting herself as an employee of a Malaysian company.

   U.S. prosecutors said she in fact was sending the technology to Iranian
   company Fanamoj, which works in public broadcasting.

   After extradition to the United States, she confessed to participation
   in a conspiracy to illegally export technology to Iran in breach of
   sanctions, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

   Pregnant at the time of her arrest, she gave birth while in Australian
   custody. Her son was sent to Iran to live with his father.

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