Iran releases Al Jazeera journalist Parvaz

Dorothy Parvaz, who was held by Iranian authorities after being detained in Syria in late April, is “safe and well and back with us” in the Qatar capital Doha, says Al Jazeera. The journalist’s fiance, Todd Barker, says Parvaz called him early Wednesday from Qatar as she was clearing customs. He tells the Canadian Press: “I looked at my phone, saw it was her number and God, it was as unreal as the moment when I got the call that she hadn’t been contacted in 24 hours.” Parvaz told him she was “treated very well, she was interrogated, but she’s fine.” She entered Syria on April 29 and was detained at the airport in Damascus and hadn’t been heard from since. “Oh my god, I just heard the news!” a visitor to the “Free Dorothy” page on Facebook wrote early Wednesday. “I was so terrified of what I was going to hear, and now so relieved that it all ended well. I’m so happy!” || More from Seattlepi.com, Seattle Times and New York Times.
> May 5: Nieman Foundation calls for release of Parvaz, a 2009 Nieman Fellow