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| Video Shows Protester Pleading With Rouhani to Free Iranian Woman | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| As my colleague Rick Gladstone reported, President Hassan Rouhani was confronted by two protesters in New York on Wednesday, who held up images of political prisoners jailed in Tehran, a reminder that some of his reformist supporters are losing patience with his gradualist approach. | As my colleague Rick Gladstone reported, President Hassan Rouhani was confronted by two protesters in New York on Wednesday, who held up images of political prisoners jailed in Tehran, a reminder that some of his reformist supporters are losing patience with his gradualist approach. |
| One of the images — of a British-Iranian woman detained in June for challenging a ban on female spectators at sporting events — can be seen poking into the frame near the end of video the president’s discussion with Fareed Zakaria posted online by the New America Foundation, which hosted the talk. | One of the images — of a British-Iranian woman detained in June for challenging a ban on female spectators at sporting events — can be seen poking into the frame near the end of video the president’s discussion with Fareed Zakaria posted online by the New America Foundation, which hosted the talk. |
| Another video clip, recorded from the audience as Mr. Rouhani left the stage, showed one of the protesters, Ali Abdi, trying to shame the president into intervening on behalf of the woman, Ghoncheh Ghavami, a dual citizen of Iran and Britain. | Another video clip, recorded from the audience as Mr. Rouhani left the stage, showed one of the protesters, Ali Abdi, trying to shame the president into intervening on behalf of the woman, Ghoncheh Ghavami, a dual citizen of Iran and Britain. |
| Mr. Abdi, a Yale student and an activist from Havaar — a group that calls for greater freedom in Iran and an end to Western sanctions — reminded Mr. Rouhani that he had encouraged Iranian expatriates to return home during a dinner in New York one year ago. Ms. Ghavami, the protester suggested, was guilty only of having believed in Mr. Rouhani, for whom she had voted last year. | Mr. Abdi, a Yale student and an activist from Havaar — a group that calls for greater freedom in Iran and an end to Western sanctions — reminded Mr. Rouhani that he had encouraged Iranian expatriates to return home during a dinner in New York one year ago. Ms. Ghavami, the protester suggested, was guilty only of having believed in Mr. Rouhani, for whom she had voted last year. |
| “You said last year in the dinner,” Mr. Abdi told the president, “that every Iranian is welcome in the country. Miss Ghoncheh Ghavami went back to Iran. She is in solitary confinement for 50 days only for watching volleyball.” | “You said last year in the dinner,” Mr. Abdi told the president, “that every Iranian is welcome in the country. Miss Ghoncheh Ghavami went back to Iran. She is in solitary confinement for 50 days only for watching volleyball.” |
| Saeed Iman Ghavami, the detained woman’s brother, told BBC News that his sister, who was arrested on June 25 outside Azadi Stadium in Tehran, where she had hoped to support Iran’s national volleyball team in a match against Italy, had been under the impression that the rule barring female spectators had been overturned. | Saeed Iman Ghavami, the detained woman’s brother, told BBC News that his sister, who was arrested on June 25 outside Azadi Stadium in Tehran, where she had hoped to support Iran’s national volleyball team in a match against Italy, had been under the impression that the rule barring female spectators had been overturned. |
| “She is 25 years old,” Mr. Abdi said as a second protester held up a photograph of Ms. Ghavami, “she is now in prison, only for the act of trying to watch volleyball.” | “She is 25 years old,” Mr. Abdi said as a second protester held up a photograph of Ms. Ghavami, “she is now in prison, only for the act of trying to watch volleyball.” |
| Her brother told Vice News that he had been turned away from Iran’s United Nations mission in New York this week when he attempted to deliver a petition calling for her release. | Her brother told Vice News that he had been turned away from Iran’s United Nations mission in New York this week when he attempted to deliver a petition calling for her release. |
| Iran refuses to accept the concept of dual nationality, but Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, said in a statement that he had expressed concern about the treatment of Ms. Ghavami in a meeting with Mr. Rouhani in New York on Wednesday. | Iran refuses to accept the concept of dual nationality, but Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, said in a statement that he had expressed concern about the treatment of Ms. Ghavami in a meeting with Mr. Rouhani in New York on Wednesday. |