Maryam Jameel

An Iranian-American scholar spoke at Northwestern about her experiences and arrest in Iran’s Evin Prison.

Driving to the airport in Tehran, Iran, Haleh Esfandiari noticed a car following her.  It suddenly turned in front of her and slammed its breaks.  Esfandiari found herself surrounded by three knife-wielding men who searched her purse and took her passport.

Esfandiari, author of My Prison, My Home, is Director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C.  She is an Iranian-American who was detained in Iran’s Evin Prison for more than 110 days in solitary confinement in 2007.

Speaking at Northwestern University’s Rebecca Crown Center on Thursday evening, Esfandiari told the tale of her unexpected incarceration. Upon losing her passport, she visited a government office to obtain a new one to return home to the U.S. as planned. This was the beginning of a four-month series of daily interrogations, during which she concluded that the theft of her passport had actually been a setup by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry.

After continuous eight-hour days of interrogation, mainly concerning her work for the Woodrow Wilson Center, Esfandiari was presented with a warrant for her arrest.  She was accused of “endangering national security,” an accusation she found comical as a 67-year-old, under five foot woman. She was to be sent to Evin, a prison notorious for its disappearances, torture, and killings. “I think the roof came just tumbling down on my head [at that point], because I was familiar with Evin Prison,” Esfandiari said.

Upon hearing the news, Esfandiari called her mother to inform her of her fate, and to have her arrange for a lawyer. Soon Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, was representing her, though Ebadi could have little power over Esfandiari’s case in Iran. Ebadi worked to publicize her client’s incarceration, hoping that with enough pressure placed on Iran, Esfandiari could be freed.

During her time at Evin, Esfandiari kept a strict routine in order to maintain her mental and physical health. “I had to prove to myself that they did not break me, they did not break my spirit,” said Esfandiari. “I learned to appreciate the rule of law and my freedom.”

Through her story, Esfandiari explains the mindset of Iran under its past regime. It was overcome by paranoia of the U.S. trying to undermine it; the regime was fearful of American universities, think tanks, and research centers being used to infiltrate the government, fearful that a person like Esfandiari could be used against Iran.  Esfandiari said she feels she was the victim of the animosity and lack of understanding between the U.S. and Iran.

While in prison, Esfandiari had no access to the outside world, and knew nothing of the uproar that had been caused by her arrest. Former presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, among other public figures, made pleas for her freedom, and eventually the mounting international pressure led to her release.

Esfandiari managed to leave Evin Prison, though she reminded the Northwestern audience that there are still many unjustly accused inmates who remain at the prison, and expressed her hopes of international pressure being employed successfully in the future.