In the Name of God

#FreeMarziehHashemi
#Pray4MarziehHashemi
We have breaking news this hour regarding journalist and Press TV news anchor Ms. Marzieh Hashemi.

We have been informed of her arrest and imprisonment in Washington DC. The reasons for her arrest remains unclear, although no formal charges have been pressed against her.

Ms. Hashemi who had been traveling within the United States to visit with her ill brother and other relatives was detained in a Saint Louis airport on Sunday, and has now been transferred to a Washington DC facility by the FBI.

Relatives had been unable to contact Ms. Hahemi for over 48 hours, and only recently learned details about her detention.

Even though there are no charges against her, Ms. Hashemi informed family members of her ill treatment in the prison facility. She described her hijab having had been removed against her will and that she is being treated as a criminal even though there are no charges against her. The prison officials have also denied her access to halal or vegetarian dietary options for the past few days, only serving her meals with meat which she has refused to eat. She mentioned that she had only been able to eat Pretzels and bread.

Keep in mind, that Ms. Hashemi who was born in the United States is an American citizen, who has not been found guilty of any crimes. She is a journalist here at Press TV and we will certainly be following up on her situation as we learn more.

Please share the above message using ONLY the two following hashtags:
#FreeMarziehHashemi
#Pray4MarziehHashemi

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A prominent American anchorwoman on Iranian state television has been arrested by the FBI during a visit to the U.S., the broadcaster reported Wednesday, and her son said she was being held in a prison, apparently as a material witness.

Marzieh Hashemi, who worked for the network’s English-language service, was detained in St. Louis, where she had filmed a Black Lives Matter documentary after visiting relatives in the New Orleans area. She was then taken to Washington, according to her elder son, Hossein Hashemi.

The FBI said in an email that it had no comment on the arrest of the woman who was born Melanie Franklin in New Orleans and has worked for Iran’s state television network for 25 years.

Hossein Hashemi said his mother lives in Tehran and comes back to this country about once a year to see her family, usually scheduling documentary work somewhere in the U.S. as well.

“We still have no idea what’s going on,” said Hashemi, a research fellow at the University of Colorado who was interviewed by phone from Washington.
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5c4050fbe4b041e98ffae16f/amp

Alhumdulilah that supporters in just one day have given nearly $40,000 to help Black American journalist Sister Marzieh Hashemi & family defend legally themselves against the FBI that arrested our sister & US gov that’s terrorizing her family #FreeMarziehHashemi
https:///2OlAZpopVs

US: Iranian journalist Marzieh Hashemi has been arrested in the US on undisclosed charges. We have serious concerns about her detention and we urge American authorities to clarify the situation @NUJofficial

STATEMENT FROM MARZIEH HASHEMI’S CHILDREN
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
May peace and blessings be upon Muhammad, his pure progeny, and his loyal companions.

We wanted to thank everyone again for the outreach and support for our mother, Marzieh Hashemi. It has been overwhelming, and is, in fact, making all the difference.

We have also seen significant media exposure for Marzieh Hashemi, although we have ourselves held back from speaking to the media over the past few days due to legal concerns. We will be happy to be more candid once these concerns subside.
The media exposure has been extremely helpful, in a very real way. The prison where she is being held is now making special arrangements for her food to be halal. They have also finally facilitated her requests regarding hijab. We do not think this would have been possible without media exposure and community pressure.

We have multiple lawyers and legal experts now involved in her case at the same time. These are seasoned individuals with high security clearance that allows them the necessary access they need to try and resolve this case on the legal front.

Alhamdulillah our mother has access and exposure, but there are unfortunately many Muslims in American prisons who need similar accommodations that are never arranged for them. Many Muslims in American prisons who do not, and cannot afford the most qualified legal teams. Our main worry should be with them.

They are invisible, and may go years without their religious requests taken seriously by anyone. Perhaps our mother’s imprisonment will bring exposure to these less known members of our community, and encourage on the ground activism to ensure the rights of these brothers and sisters.

We are all responsible for their wellbeing. These are the people that our mother speaks to us about most often, and tells us not to forget them, not to ignore them.

For us; Hossein, Sarah, and Reza Hashemi, this is not just about our mother. Her case highlights a larger constitutionally legitimized process by way of which people who have not committed a crime can be put in prison through legal means. They can be kept in prison for an indefinite period of time, and all of this is deemed legal and legitimate under U.S. law. This is highly problematic and can affect any one of us at any time.

We believe that it is imperative, especially for marginalized people in the United States of America to understand these controversial laws pertaining to being a “material witness” and other laws that can lead to our detention even if we have done nothing wrong.
We echo the voice of many legal and rights advocacy groups in the United States that find the constitutionality of these laws highly problematic, and, moving forward, we intend to assist organizations that are challenging this legal loophole.

At the moment, we are led to believe that Marzieh Hashemi’s release this coming week is a possibility, although nothing is for certain. We also believe that we are in a strong position on the legal front in general. This is certainly a result of community support.
Again, we don’t know anything for certain about her release. We were able to speak to her on the phone a second time on Friday 18 January. Her overall condition seems to be okay at the moment, but she did seem quite tired.

What is most difficult for us to grapple with is the fact that our mother will remain in prison for the duration of the legal proceedings, however long it may be, despite the fact that she has not been charged with any crime.
We will go forward by placing all this in Allah’s hands, for we plan and they plan, but He is the best of planners.

For further queries or to keep updated email marziehenquiries@gmail.com


Curled from AIM (AHLULBAYT ISLAMIC MISSION, LONDON) FACEBOOK PAGE

We will see how this goes.

Albaqir, is she Iranian-American? Or she converted ?

BeansAndBread:
Albaqir, is she Iranian-American? Or she converted ?

She is a 60year old African American. She was inspired by, and became Muslim convert after 1979 Revolution in Iran. She's been working for Press tv Iran more than a decade. Her families still reside in the U.S.

#FreeMahzierHashemi #PrayforMazhierHashemi Yaa Rabbi Fa Ajjil bil faraji Salamun aleikum AlBaqir.

spiritualmubi:
#FreeMahzierHashemi
#PrayforMazhierHashemi
Yaa Rabbi Fa Ajjil bil faraji
Salamun aleikum AlBaqir.

Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh dear sir