Iranian-American Student Can Leave Iran-Judiciary

Esha Momeni was detained in mid-October during a visit to Iran from the United States to see family.

Iran's judiciary sees no obstacles to an Iranian-American student who was detained on security-related charges leaving the country after she was freed on bail last week, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Esha Momeni was detained in mid-October during a visit to Iran from the United States to see family and carry out research on the women's movement in the Islamic Republic. She was freed on Nov. 10 after spending almost four weeks in a Tehran prison.

"She is freed on bail. I believe there are no obstacles if she wants to leave her country," judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi told a news conference.

But he added she must return when she is due to appear in court in the case. Asked about a report that the court still held her passport, Jamshidi said: "She would most probably be able to go and get it."

There was no immediate comment from Momeni or her family.

The judiciary has said Momeni was accused of acting against national security and of making propaganda against the Islamic Republic's system of government, a common charge against Iranian dissidents. Momeni holds dual Iranian and U.S. citizenship.

Women's rights activists say Momeni was detained after interviewing campaigners for a film she was working on as part of her studies in California. She was released after a deed to her family's home in Iran was posted as bail.

Activists say dozens of them have been detained since they launched a campaign in 2006 to collect 1 million signatures in support of demands for changes in laws they say deny women in Iran equal rights in matters such as divorce and child custody.

Most were freed after a few days or weeks. Iran says it follows sharia, Islamic law, and denies accusations it discriminates against women.

Last year Iran detained four Iranians with dual U.S. citizenship on security-related charges, drawing strong protests from Washington.

They were later freed on bail after state television broadcast images of two of them confessing to acting against the Islamic state's national security and spying.

The United States severed diplomatic ties with Iran shortly after its 1979 Islamic revolution. The two countries are now embroiled in a row over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.