Iranian State TV journalist released from US custody

A prominent American-born newscaster for the Iranian government’s Press TV was released late Wednesday after her 10-day long detention in federal custody provoked outrage in the US and Iran.

Marzieh Hashemi was freed in Washington DC after being detained for 10 days, an attorney with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee told media.

Hashemi, who works for Iran's state broadcaster Press TV, was taken into custody in St Louis earlier this month.

Her detention came after Iran had arrested four Americans.

Hashemi has not been charged with any crime and appeared before a federal grand jury at least three times. US law allows the government to arrest and hold so-called “material witnesses” if a judge agrees that the individual has information that is important to a criminal proceeding and may flee if simply subpoenaed to appear in court.

Tensions have been high between the US and Iran under President Donald Trump. In 2018 he pulled the US out of an international nuclear deal with Iran and re-imposed sanctions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi condemned the treatment of Hashemi.

Her employer, the English-language state broadcaster Press TV, issued a statement expressing strong protest.

According to the outlet, Hashemi told her family that she had been "subjected to violent and abusive treatment from the very onset".

The authorities allegedly forced her to remove her hijab and allowed her to wear only a short-sleeved shirt, going against her Muslim beliefs.

The statement says she was also denied halal (adhering to Islamic law) food, "being offered only pork as a meal and not even bread", and as a result ate just a packet of crackers after her apprehension.

Launched in 2007, Press TV is a 24-hour news broadcaster in English and French. The Tehran-based channel has bureaus around the world.