After Months of Uncertainty and Imprisonment, Dr. Haleh Esfandiari Returns Home

September 18, 2007

Message from Dr. Haleh Esfandiari

Dear Friends:

I would like thank each one of you for your generous support during my long ordeal and incarceration: you wrote letters, signed petitions, called to offer your help to the Wilson Center and my family, even offered to help raise money for my bail.

I never knew of, nor even imagined, such an extraordinary outpouring of support while incarcerated in Evin Prison. I am truly grateful that you never lost hope and worked tirelessly for my freedom. All this, and the knowledge that you kept me and my family in your prayers, is a source of strength and inspiration to me.

I have returned to the Wilson Center energized to continue to work for dialogue between nations. Despite a terrible ordeal that occupied eight months of my life, I continue to believe that dialogue and diplomacy are the means towards international peace and stability. I will continue to work towards that goal.

Sincerely,
Haleh

Haleh Esfandiari
Director, Middle East Program

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Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, arrived safely in the United States on September 6th. Dr. Esfandiari announced that she was happy and excited to be home with her family.

Esfandiari was incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin prison on May 8, 2007, on allegations of endangering Iranian national security. During her lengthy 105-day confinement in prison, she was denied access to her legal defense team and to independent monitoring bodies such as the ICRC and was allowed only limited contact with her family. Dr. Esfandiari left Iran on September 2nd.

Media with questions may reach Sharon McCarter at (202) 691-4016 or sharon.mccarter@wilsoncenter.org.

Timeline of Events
Up-To-Date Timeline on the Detainment, Interrogation, and Imprisonment of Haleh Esfandiari
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Press Releases
After Months of Uncertainty and Imprisonment, Dr. Haleh Esfandiari Will Finally Return Home, September 3, 2007
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Iran Releases Dr. Haleh Esfandiari from Evin Prison
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Imprisonment of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari Reaches the 100 Day Mark
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Woodrow Wilson Center Dismisses Recently Aired Iranian Video ‘Confessions’ as Scripted and Contrived, July 20, 2007
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Woodrow Wilson Center Responds to Iran’s Announcement That it Will Broadcast Apparent Confessions by Haleh Esfandiari, July 16, 2007
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Woodrow Wilson Center Responds to Iran’s Announcement That It Has Uncovered New Evidence Against Haleh Esfandiari, July 10, 2007
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Hundreds Gather for Vigil in New York Calling for the Immediate Release of Haleh Esfandiari and Other Detained Iranian Americans, June 27, 2007
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Human Rights Groups to Hold Vigil in New York Calling for the Immediate Release of Haleh Esfandiari and Other Detained Iranian-Americans, June 20, 2007
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Lee H. Hamilton Responds to Reports of Iranian Court’s Refusal to Uphold Due Process Rights for Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, June 11, 2007
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U.S. House of Representatives Passes Resolution Calling for the Immediate Release of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari by the Iranian Government, June 7, 2007
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Scholars from Iran, the Middle East, and Others Protest the Detainment of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari by the Iranian Government, June 5, 2007
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Former Princeton University Students of Haleh Esfandiari Sending Letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran, June 1, 2007
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Reports from Tehran Indicate that Haleh Esfandiari Has Been Formally Charged with Espionage and Endangering Iranian Security, May 29, 2007
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Iranian State-Run Television Reports Haleh Esfandiari Is Charged with Seeking to Topple the Ruling Islamic Establishment, May 21, 2007
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Update on the Arrest in Tehran of Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, May 17, 2007
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Statement on the Arrest in Tehran of Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, May 15, 2007
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Transcripts from Press Conferences
Transcript from September 10 Press Conference
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Transcript from May 31 Press Conference
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Transcript from May 22 Press Conference
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