Iranian authorities arrested and jailed a California State University student who was researching women's movements in the Persian Gulf country, Amnesty International said.
Esha Momeni, 28, a graduate student at the university's Northridge campus, was taken into custody Oct. 15 in Tehran on "suspicion of committing a traffic offense" while driving on the Moddaress Highway, the human rights group said in a statement.
Police then searched her family's home in Tehran and confiscated her computer and footage of interviews she conducted, Amnesty said. She was taken to Evin Prison, and authorities told her relatives she would be released quickly if they didn't publicize her arrest, according to Amnesty.
When officials at a branch of the country's Revolutionary Court told the family no information on her case would be released until an investigation is completed, relatives decided to make details of the arrest public, Amnesty said. Momeni has not been charged with any crimes and is at risk of being mistreated or tortured, the group said.
"We're tracking reports and official statements and will continue to monitor the situation," Nicole Choueiry, a spokeswoman for London-based Amnesty International, said today in a telephone interview.
Concern for Women
Momeni, an Iranian-American who is a U.S. citizen with family in Tehran, had been in Iran for two months to do research for her graduate thesis, Amnesty said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said it has taken time to get information from Iran, where the U.S. has no direct diplomatic representation and works through the Swiss Embassy, he said.
"I'm not certain, but it's our understanding that she's a dual national," Wood told reporters in Washington today. "We're looking into it to try to get additional information and confirm that information."
Momeni is working toward a master's degree in mass communications at Cal State-Northridge, where officials are contacting U.S. legislators, the State Department and Mohammad Khazaee, Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations, in an effort to secure her release.
School Seeks Help
"She is a student invested in learning and understanding current conditions in the country of her family's origin," Cal State-Northridge President Jolene Koester said in a statement posted on the school's Web site. "Anyone who values knowledge and the role of academic inquiry in shedding light on the human condition should be concerned."
Momeni was born in Los Angeles in 1980, three years after her father arrived in the U.S. from Iran to pursue a degree in civil engineering at Cal State's Los Angeles campus, according to "Free Esha," a Web site dedicated to securing her release.
Her family later returned to Iran, where she earned a bachelor's degree in graphic design from Azad University in Tehran in 2002, according to "Free Esha." She returned to the U.S. to continue her education and enrolled at Cal State- Northridge in 2006.
Momeni is a member of the Campaign for Equality, a two-year- old group that works to end discrimination against women in Iranian law, Amnesty said. Dozens of activists and supporters have been arrested in connection with the campaign's activities, and the Web site has been blocked at least 16 times by Iranian authorities, Amnesty said.
Professor Stunned
One of Momeni's professors at Northridge, David Blumenkrantz, said in an interview posted on "Free Esha" that he was "shocked" to hear of the arrest.
"I'm aware that such things happen in Iran, but I'm confident that they have nothing to fear from Esha's research project," said Blumenkrantz. "It is simply an academic exercise, not meant for publication outside of academic circles."
Telephone messages left with Mohammad Mohammadi, the spokesman for Iran's mission to the UN in New York, weren't immediately answered.
To contact the reporters on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in New York at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net; Jonathan Tirone in Vienna at jtirone@bloomberg.net.