IRAN FREES SILVA HAROTONIAN
Tert.am
16:11 ~U 15.03.10
Aid worker Silva Harotonian, who has been in an Iranian prison for more
than twenty months, has been released, reports The Armenian Reporter.
In a March 10 statement, her employer, the U.S.-funded International
Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), thanked "the Government of
Armenia for their engagement in securing Silva’s release." Details
of that engagement have not been made public.
Harotonian, an Iranian citizen, was arrested on June 26, 2008,
while on a business trip to Tehran for IREX’s Maternal and Child
Health Education and Exchange Program (MCHEEP). A Yerevan-based
administrative officer for the program, launched in 2007, she was
the only IREX staff member working in Iran at the time.
The arrest only became public in February 2009 when Harotonian was
sentenced to three years in prison on charges that she was involved
in activities directed against the Iranian government; Harotonian
was reportedly forced to implicate herself under duress.
In subsequent months, Harotonian’s family received help from the US
government and Iranian human rights activists who publicly campaigned
for her release, establishing a dedicated web site at
and holding media events in Paris and New York.
On July 1, Iran’s ambassador in Armenia expressed hope that Harotonian
would soon be granted clemency.
Soon after, Harotonian’s family suspended public campaigning, reporting
on their website that there were hopeful signs pointing towards her
release, which eventually came this month.
The IREX statement that announced Harotonian’s release last week also
asked "that the media kindly respect Silva and her family’s privacy."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
