American Hostage Released

By Pamela Mortimer

During a trip to Tehran to visit her ailing mother, Haleh Esfandiari was arrested on charges of threatening to harm national security. On Tuesday, the 67 year old woman who spent four long months in captivity was released on bail. Esfandiari’s mother, a woman in her 90’s, received a call from Iranian officials instructing her to post bail for her daughter. In Iran, bail can typically be paid through a lien on personal property, such as the mother’s apartment. Esfandiari's husband, Shaul Bakhash, told CNN that her mother, who lives in Tehran, posted bail but did not release the amount she had to pay to free her daughter. The Associated Press reported that the bail amount was $333,000.

Shortly after her release, Bakhash said he had spoken to his wife and reported that she "sounds well" even though other family members described her as "very tired". She had appeared gaunt in broadcasts on Iranian television.

Bakhash also said that Esfandiari was "delighted to be out of prison" and was eager to get her passport back.

Haleh Esfandiari told her husband she had been "treated well," but it was apparent that the Iranians had misconceptions about the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, where Haleh Esfandiari is director of the Middle Eastern Program.

"I am absolutely delighted that she is out and happy to hear her voice after nearly four months," Bakhash told CNN. "I was pleased to hear her sound as well as she did. I count every minute she can come home."

"The U.S. welcomes the news," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe. Iran has been criticized by the U.S. for holding Esfandiari and three other Americans. However, U.S. officials see Esfandiari's release as a "half-gesture" and are concerned that Esfandiari will be kept in Iran.

Some surmise that the Iranian government is trying to present a "more reasonable and rational" face prior to an upcoming U.N. General Assembly session.

The future for Haleh Esfandiari is still unclear. Former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton, the director of the Wilson Center, said the charges against Esfandiari have not been dismissed. However, Esfandiari’s family and co-workers are relieved that her stint in prison was over.

"We're rejoicing because a long and trying ordeal for her and her family is over," said Hamilton.

"Her physical and mental welfare are the urgent priority. We want her to be permitted to return to the United States and her family. She lost eight months of her life. She went through long hours of interrogation and isolation that we can't imagine. She was under a great deal of stress and lost a lot of weight."

There has been no resolution in the cases of the other American detainees: Ali Shakeri, a businessman who was arrested while on a visit to his aged mother, who subsequently died, according to the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding at the University of California, Irvine, where Shakeri is an adviser; and Parnaz Azima, a reporter for Radio Free Europe’s Persian-language service, who maintains both Iranian and American citizenship.