Marzieh Hashemi says arrest was unnecessary and when held as a material witness she was forced to remove hijab, not given food meeting religious dietary restrictions
A prominent American-born anchorwoman for Iran’s state television says she believes the US government jailed her because of her work as a journalist and her beliefs, and as a warning to her to “watch your step.”
Marzieh Hashemi spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday, a day after being released from custody. She was not charged with a crime but was detained for ten days as a material witness in a grand jury investigation in Washington. Details of the investigation are under seal, and Hashemi said she could not provide details. But she said it is not related to terrorism and has to do with her job and the fact that she lives in Iran.
Hashemi said that her arrest was unnecessary because she would have voluntarily appeared for questioning and would have complied with a federal subpoena.
“I’m not sure what the meaning of ‘Make America Great Again’ is, but if it means just basically taking away human rights more and more every day, that doesn’t seem to be a very great America to me,” she said, in a reference to US President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan.
Responding to a request for comment, the Justice Department noted that federal law allows judges to order witnesses to be detained if the government can “demonstrate probable cause to believe that the witness can provide material evidence, and that it will be impracticable to secure the witness’s attendance at the proceedings by means of a subpoena.”
The Justice Department had previously released two unsealed court orders. One confirmed that she was a material witness and the second confirmed she had been released.