TEHRAN (AFP) — An Iranian-American student arrested in Tehran this month faces accusations over her involvement with a women's rights equality campaign, her lawyer said on Monday.
"Esha Momeni's parents told me she has been informed of accusations over her activities in the women's signature campaign," Mohammad Ali Dadkhah told AFP.
Dadkhah said he had not yet been allowed to visit Momeni, who was arrested on October 15 for an alleged traffic offence and detained in Tehran's Evin prison.
Momeni, a graduate student at the Northridge campus of California State University, had travelled to Iran to carry out research for her thesis on women's rights, the lawyer said.
He confirmed that she holds both Iranian and US nationality.
Over the past year Iran has arrested several women involved with the One-Million-Signature campaign, launched two years ago and calling for change to Iranian laws deemed discriminatory to women.
The United States has asked Switzerland, which represents US interests in Tehran, to find out more about Momeni.
Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday it had still not been informed of her situation by the judiciary.
"The relevant bodies are pursuing her case and their legal measures. We have not been informed of anything final," ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said.
Iran does not recognise dual nationality and has in past called the arrest of US-Iranian citizens an internal matter.
In May 2007, US-Iranian academics Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh and California-based peace activist Ali Shakeri were arrested and held for more than 100 days on suspicion of causing harm to national security.