Accessibility links

Breaking News

Al-Jazeera Journalist Freed from Iran


Journalist Dorothy Parvaz
Journalist Dorothy Parvaz

The Al-Jazeera television network says one of its journalists who went missing as she traveled to cover anti-government unrest in Syria last month has safely returned to Qatar, the network's headquarters.

The Arabic network says Dorothy Parvaz arrived in Doha on Wednesday and is in good health. Family members and her fiance, Todd Barker, say she was freed from Iran.

Parvaz was last heard from on April 29 after she left Doha for Damascus.

Syria was initially quiet on her fate. However, last week, Syrian authorities said they had sent her to Iran after she tried to enter Syria with an invalid Iranian passport. Parvaz holds Iranian, U.S. and Canadian citizenship.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said it was "important" to Iran to determine what happened to Parvaz. However, he did not confirm that she was being held in the country.

Mehmanparast did confirm Syrian accounts that Parvaz tried to enter Syria on an expired Iranian passport and planned to work in the country without a press permit.

Syrian has banned nearly all foreign journalists from working in the country, as part of its efforts to crack down on the opposition protests that erupted in March.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter
and discuss them on our Facebook page.
XS
SM
MD
LG