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Iranian TV anchor held as witness is released from U.S. jail

A prominent American-born anchorwoman on Iranian state television who was held in the U.S. as a material witness has been released from jail.

Supporters of Marzieh Hashemi, an American-born anchor for Iran's state television broadcaster, demonstrate outside the federal courthouse where Hashemi will appear before a U.S. grand jury, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, in Washington. She is in custody as a material witness.
Supporters of Marzieh Hashemi, an American-born anchor for Iran's state television broadcaster, demonstrate outside the federal courthouse where Hashemi will appear before a U.S. grand jury, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, in Washington. She is in custody as a material witness.Read moreCliff Owen / AP
    by MICHAEL BALSAMO, The Associated Press
    Published 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A prominent American-born anchorwoman on Iranian state television who was held in the United States as a material witness was released from jail Wednesday evening.

Marzieh Hashemi, 59, was released from jail in Washington after being detained for 10 days, according to Abed Ayoub, an attorney with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Hashemi, who works for the Press TV network’s English-language service, was detained by federal agents Jan. 13 in St. Louis, where she had filmed a Black Lives Matter documentary after visiting relatives in the New Orleans area, her son said. She was then transported to Washington and had remained behind bars since then.

Hashemi appeared at least twice before a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, and court papers said she would be released immediately after her testimony before a grand jury. Court documents did not include details on the criminal case in which she was named a witness.

Federal law allows judges to order witnesses to be detained if the government can prove that their testimony has extraordinary value for a criminal case and that they would be a flight risk and unlikely to respond to a subpoena. The statute generally requires those witnesses to be promptly released once they are deposed.

A person familiar with the matter said Hashemi had fulfilled her obligation as a material witness and was released. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Hashemi is a U.S. citizen and was born Melanie Franklin. She lives in Tehran and comes back to the United States about once a year to see her family, usually scheduling documentary work in the country, her son said.

Asked whether his mother had been involved in any criminal activity or knew anyone who might be implicated in a crime, Hossein Hashemi said, "We don't have any information along those lines."

He didn't immediately respond to a call seeking comment on Wednesday.

Marzieh Hashemi’s detention comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal. Iran also faces increasing criticism of its own arrests of dual citizens and other people with Western ties.

Earlier Wednesday, dozens of activists protested outside the federal courthouse in Washington, where Hashemi was scheduled to appear before the grand jury. They held signs and chanted, “Free, free, Marzieh!” and “Shame, shame, USA!”