Dorothy Parvaz released from detention in Iran

We're thrilled to hear this morning that Iran has freed detained journalist (and 2009 Nieman fellow) Dorothy Parvaz. Alan Cowell and J. David Goodman reported in The New York Times that, without advance notice, Dorothy called her fiancé, Todd Barker, from customs as she arrived back in Doha, Qatar. A wonderful surprise for him, no doubt, and we’re happy to read the good news again and again in accounts on the websites of Al Jazeera English, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. [UPDATE: Here is Dorothy's own account of her time in Syria and Iran, now posted on the Al Jazeera website.]

Thank you to those Storyboard readers who saw our Monday post and helped raise awareness worldwide of Dorothy’s detention. Dorothy, an American, Canadian and Iranian citizen who works for Al Jazeera, had not been heard from since she was detained April 29 when she arrived in Damascus from Doha. Syria transferred her to Iran.