CSU Northridge grad Esha Momeni was arrested in Iran over four months ago while working on her master's thesis. She is still not allowed to leave the country and therefore won't be eligible to graduate with her classmates this spring.
Esha, who holds both Iranian and American citizenship, traveled to Iran to film interviews with women's rights activists in Tehran. Pulled over for an alleged traffic violation, her video footage was confiscated and she was charged with acting against national security and propagating against the system.
She's since been through solitary confinement, interrogation and forced to pay $200,000 bail, and the government refuses to return her passport. Her situation is not unusual; crackdown on women's rights activists is common in Iran and at least three other women have been arrested and detained. Esha and her family hope that the Obama administration can negotiate talks to release her with Iranian officials.