Iran Press/Iran news: IRIB World Service Chief in an interview with Arabic language Al-Alam News Network on Thursday, congratulated Press TV's anchor Marzieh Hashemi's release from FBI detention and said: The US authorities wanted to humiliate and insult Marzieh Hashemi when they arrested her, but it was the United States which was belittled and humiliated by Marzieh Hashemi's supporters.
According to an Iran Press report, Jebelli added: "Supporting Marzieh Hashemi is in effect supporting justice and truth, and resisting the arrogant powers."
The head of IRIB World Service stressed: "US authorities' ill-treatment of Marzieh Hashemi after her detention proved that all American slogans and propaganda about freedom, freedom of speech and human rights are simply lies, false and futile."
In further remarks, Jebelli said the case of Marzieh Hashemi's detention shows the urgent need to inform public opinion, particularly US public opinion, about innocent people who have been wrongly imprisoned in the United States, so that US officials are shamed and forced to release innocent detainees from US jails.
Jebelli added: "Release of Marzieh Hashemi is a great success for independent media, including Press TV and Al-Aalam News networks, because these two channels played a crucial role, informing public opinion about US administration's immoral actions regarding innocent detainees.
Press TV anchor Marzieh Hashemi, who was jailed in the US without charge for ten days and later freed amid a public outcry, arrived in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday 30 Jan 2019 amid a tumultuous welcome by ordinary people and media.
Marzieh Hashemi, a 59-year-old American-born Muslim convert who has lived in Iran for years, was detained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at St. Louis Lambert International Airport in Missouri on January 13 while in the US to visit her ill brother and other family members.
While in detention, she was forced to remove her hijab and was only offered non-halal food.
Hashemi’s detention prompted condemnation in the US and abroad, sparking rallies in several countries, including the United States.
US federal court failed to indict the journalist, who was arrested as a material witness and in an unspecified criminal proceeding, of any crime.
In an address during demonstrations in Washington, DC., Hashemi recounted her ordeal during her time in jail and mistreatment by the American justice system.
Born Melanie Franklin in New Orleans, Hashemi graduated in the US and is a veteran television presenter and producer for Press TV. Marzieh or Melanie was fascinated by the late Imam Khomeini's character, the founder of Islamic revolution, and converted to Islam, then emigrated to Iran. 205/ 211/103
Read more:
Marzieh Hashemi back in Iran after 10-day U.S. detention
Marzieh Hashemi warns of innocents being jailed in the US Judicial system
Press TV chief reiterates media's major role in Hashemi's freedom
