Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Freed Iranian-American scholar recounts ordeal in Iran - International Herald Tribune
Haleh Esfandiari, the Iranian-American academic held for four months in solitary confinement in the political wing of Iran's infamous Evin prison, said in Washington that she was able to endure by sticking to a rigorous daily exercise regimen and blocking out anything that reminded her of home.
On the three occasions when the prison dinner was an Iranian dish called adas pollo, a mixture of rice, lentils and raisins that is the favorite of her two young granddaughters back in Washington, she said she refused to even look at it, for example.
"Once in prison I decided I was not going to fall apart," Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a research institute in Washington, said Monday. "To maintain my mental and physical well-being, I imposed a strict discipline on myself." ...
Esfandiari, 67, looking vibrant in a dark suit, orange scarf and gold brooch, spoke about her ordeal during an hourlong news conference at the Wilson Center and in a separate telephone interview with The New York Times.
It remained a mystery to her, she said, why she was imprisoned on May 8 after months of interrogation by intelligence agents. She was prevented from leaving Iran in December after a weeklong visit to her 93-year-old mother. ...
Haleh Esfandiari, the Iranian-American academic held for four months in solitary confinement in the political wing of Iran's infamous Evin prison, said in Washington that she was able to endure by sticking to a rigorous daily exercise regimen and blocking out anything that reminded her of home.
On the three occasions when the prison dinner was an Iranian dish called adas pollo, a mixture of rice, lentils and raisins that is the favorite of her two young granddaughters back in Washington, she said she refused to even look at it, for example.
"Once in prison I decided I was not going to fall apart," Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a research institute in Washington, said Monday. "To maintain my mental and physical well-being, I imposed a strict discipline on myself." ...
Esfandiari, 67, looking vibrant in a dark suit, orange scarf and gold brooch, spoke about her ordeal during an hourlong news conference at the Wilson Center and in a separate telephone interview with The New York Times.
It remained a mystery to her, she said, why she was imprisoned on May 8 after months of interrogation by intelligence agents. She was prevented from leaving Iran in December after a weeklong visit to her 93-year-old mother. ...
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