ESha Momeni

About me:

Following a 28-day incarceration in a notorious Tehran prison and a 10-month travel ban, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) graduate student Esha Momeni returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Esha was arrested in Iran on Oct. 15, 2008 for researching the Iranian women's movement. After two months of conducting research for her thesis and visiting family, Esha was pulled over on Modarres Highway in Tehran. The undercover police who stopped her claimed she had made an illegal pass. They took Esha to her family's home and searched it, confiscating her computer and video footage she'd filmed for her thesis about the Iranian women's movement. She was held in solitary confinement in the notorious Evin Prison, without bail, until Nov. 10, 2008.



Before her release, Esha was charged with acting against national security. Her academic research focused on Change For Equality, a group working to change Iranian laws that discriminate against women. Esha was conducting interviews in the homes of members involved in the One Million Signatures Campaign-an effort to collect signatures from Iranians who seek gender equality in their country.

When bail was granted, Esha's family paid it ($200,000) by mortgaging their home. The Iranian government would not return her passport, and, later issued an official travel ban. That meant Esha was not permitted to leave Iran, return home to Los Angeles, or finish her academic studies as planned. Her legal problems are shared by others in Iran. According to a special report by UN human rights experts, the Iranian government has been cracking down on women's rights advocates engaged in non-violent activities. As of November 2008, the U.N. issued communications to Iran about human rights violations against more than 70 members of the One Million Signatures Campaign.


This is a great, informative video about the One Million Signatures Campaign, which esha was documenting for her thesis. more amazing info. on their website www.campaign4equality.info/english/

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Thanks again to everyone on MySpace for taking action and supporting Esha. It's astonishing to know so many people care. To paraphrase one of those people: Esha's story transcends differences, nationality, ethnicity, gender. You don't have to know her personally to understand that her human rights are in jeopardy.