Esha was not able to leave Iran on her scheduled flight back to LA

Esha had a flight back to Los Angeles scheduled on November 21, 2008. Although the officials had given her a glimpse of hope that she would be able to use her ticket, she did not receive her passport and therefore was not able to leave the country. Friends were looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with her. "We're all spending time with friends and family this week and we were hoping we'd be giving thanks for having Esha back in L.A.," CSUN mass communication graduate student Vanessa Mora said in a statement sent to the press:
http://changeforequality-ca.org/English/Docs/neweshathanskgiving.pdf
Also:
http://laist.com/2008/11/25/csun_student_freed_from_iranian_jai.php

Esha still not permitted to leave Iran

Several news media including LA Times, and the Iranian news agency ILNA, on November 18 quoted Alireza Jamshidi, the spokesperson of the Iranian Judiciary, saying that 'there are no obstacles for [Momeni] to leave the country.'
However, Esha Momeni's passport has not been returned to her and according to close friends, Esha was told by the officials today that this news was incorrect and that she does not have permission to leave the country.

Fellow Member of the One Million Signatures Campaign spoke at the CSUN Vigil organized for Esha

Fellow member of One Million Signatures Campaign, Roja Bandari, was among the several individuals who spoke at the Vigil organized for Esha by CSUN graduate students. Below is what was shared with students, faculty, and friends who attended the event on November 12.

http://campaign-for-equality.org/English/Roja_VigilForEsha_eng.html

The Observatory: Urgent appeal regarding release on bail of Esha Momeni

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), issued an urgent appeal regarding the case of Esha Momeni.

In its statement, the Observatory welcomes the release of Ms. Esha Momeni, and thanks all the persons, institutions and organizations who intervened in her favor. It further states that Momeni's release was on a bail of $200,000 met by the deeds to her family's apartment. The statement adds:

"... the Observatory recalls that Ms. Esha Momeni remains charged with "propaganda against the State", and expresses its deep concern about the ongoing harsh repression of the Iranian authorities against human rights defenders, in particular women's rights activists involved in the One Million Signatures Campaign. To that extent, the Observatory recalls that more than a hundred of women's rights activists have been arrested, interrogated, or sentenced in the past two years and that the government has raised over one million Euros by imprisoning the activists and releasing them on high bail[2]."

For complete text of the appeal click here:
http://campaign-for-equality.org/English/Docs/UrgentAppeal-TheObservatory.pdf

CSUN students hold candlelight vigil for Esha Momeni

Graduate students at CSUN hosted a candlelight vigil last night in hopes of their classmate's return. The event was attended by students and professors from CSUN, and by Esha's friends including the members of One Million Signatures Campaign-California. In the beginning of the event, Esha's close friend and her sister sincerely thanked everyone who advocated for Esha's release everywhere. Classmates and Professors talked about Esha and expressed their hopes that she can return to CSUN to complete her education and graduate with the rest of her class. Some expressed concern at the fact that Esha's release was on bail (a deed to her family's home). Here are the words of Esha's adviser, Professor Melissa Wall at the vigil last night:

"I am very proud of all of my graduate students who have worked so hard to let the world know about Esha Momeni's situation and who stand here tonight asking that Esha be allowed to return to Cal State Northridge to finish her degree with her classmates.

I am especially proud of Esha - for the courage she has shown in order to share with us a seemingly simple message: Iranian women are more complex and a lot tougher than the images we so often see of them.

We are not here tonight to offer Esha or any other Iranian woman our pity - but we offer our understanding and our solidarity and to share our hope that Esha be allowed to rejoin us soon to continue her academic work."

Video posted by Los Angeles Daily News, November 13
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_10969646

Here are a few links to news and photos about this event:

http://melissawall.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/free-esha-momeni-vigilrally/

http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7853130&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Other related posts:
90 Scholars signed a statement for Esha Momeni's release
Letter of American Association of University Professors to the Iranian officials about Esha Momeni

CSUN vigil/celebration for Esha's release and awaiting her safe return

A vigil/celebration for Esha's release and awaiting her safe return is scheduled for tomorrow, Nov. 12, in Calstate Northridge in front of the Oviatt Library at 4:30. Daily News reported on the release of Esha Momeni including interviews with her professors and classmates:

At California State University, Northridge, professors and classmates of Momeni, who are busy planning a vigil/celerbration [for tomorrow] in support of the grad student's release, celebrated the news. "These three weeks have probably been some of the most difficult weeks I have ever experienced," said professor Melissa Wall, adviser for the communications graduate program at CSUN.

"But these weren't wasted weeks. We have all learned a lot about ourselves and about the obstacles that exist in communication between these two very different countries and cultures. These were the exact issues Esha's work focused on and even though this has all been very difficult, maybe eventually something good will come out of this."

Read more>> http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_10951919

CNN's report on Esha Momeni's release

In an interview with CNN, Elise Auerbach, the Iran specialist for Amnesty International USA, commented on a recent news on Esha Momeni's charge.

According to CNN, Auerbach stated that "Tehran's deputy general prosecutor, Hasan Hadad, has 'deliberately leaked' to the state-run media his intentions to charge Momeni with propaganda against the state". The Iranian judiciary has not commented on Momeni's release. "A lot of people have faced that charge," Auerbach said. "It's kind of a vague, loosely worded charge that's kind of convenient. They can use it against whomever they want basically." Auerbach said Momeni is not the only woman involved with Change for Equality who has been jailed recently; at least three women who worked with the group are being detained, she said. As of Tuesday morning, the Iranian government had not returned Momeni's passport and travel papers, Auerbach said.

According to this report, Hadi Ghaemi, coordinator for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, said he believes Tehran wants to stifle the women's rights movement, and Momeni's arrest was meant to intimidate like-minded scholars or activists. "We see here detention as a method of pressuring that movement on a broader scale," he said. "The government would very much like to quiet these women."

Read more:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/11/11/iran.student.released/