She disappeared 19 days ago after arriving in Syria to cover the uprising against the Assad regime. Now Al Jazeera journalist is Dorothy Parvaz is free.
She holds U.S., Canadian and Iranian citizenship, and was detained in Damascus and then in Iran. She had no contact with outside world in that time.
Iran said she had tried to enter Syria on an expired Iranian passport. Iran does not recognise dual nationalities. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson also told reporters in Tehran that Ms Parvaz "did not have a work permit". Ramin Mehmanparast said she had attempted "to enter a country on two illegal counts".
Foreign journalists have been banned from entering Syria during it's crackdown on protestors.
Meanwhile the Syrian government has disputed claims that a mass grave was found in the southern city of Deraa. Syrian human rights activists and residents said more than 20 bodies had been exhumed from one mass grave, and that others had been found in the area. They also said 41 other bodies were found in fields around nearby towns.
There have been worldwide calls for the release of Dorothy Parvaz from international press freedom organisations, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, and from many of Parvaz's colleagues.
Her detention shows the risks faced by journalists and news organisations in covering in uprisings across the Middle East.
She is one of the few foreign journalists who attempted to enter Syria to cover the violence and protests. A huge facebook and twitter campaign got underway demanding her release.
Gillian Alexander poted on the free Dorothy Parvaz facebook page
"good to hear the news!! but there should not be a repeat of this with any more journalists and other innocent civilians who are just doing their job..."
Nancy Holohan posted on the same page
"I believe that one person can make a difference and when we come together, our voice becomes much louder and that's a very good thing."
We have few details about how she was treated and the circumstances surrounding of her release, but we'll be speaking again to one of her friends who has had email contact with her since she was freed.
Your comments
Comment sent via Feed
12:31
113631290
<p>
<br />
Markham tweeted<br />
Delighted to hear that Dorothy Parvaz has been set free:</p>
Comment sent via Feed
12:31
113631290
<p>
Leila tweeted<br />
Hearing that Dorothy Parvaz is finally free after she went missing 18 days ago. Great news!</p>
Comment sent via Feed
12:30
113631290
<p>
Bethan Howe tweeted<br />
great news that Dorothy Parvaz is free, just hope she's ok and gets back to her loved ones asap</p>
Comment sent via unknown: 23057
12:17
116516211
@成人论坛_WHYS I'm glad that she was released. I hope more will be released. Sadiq from Nigeria
Comment sent via Feed
12:30
113631290
<p>
Gabriela Discenza tweeted Dorothy is finally free!!! Iran's gvmt finally did something right!</p>
Comment sent via Feed
12:02
113631290
<p>
Evakatrina tweeted<br />
Thank God, Alhamdulillah, good news about dorothy parvaz. She's safe in Qatar and will be coming back to Canada.</p>
Comment sent via Facebook
12:02
113631290
<p>
Abdul posed on facebook<br />
the Syrian government should now stop gagging the media.</p>
Comment sent via Facebook
12:01
113631290
<p>
Randy posted on facebook<br />
If the Syria government felt they had evidence she was a threat to their security (a spy) they should have deported her. This will only give fodder to the world in seeing that the current Syrian regime has little regard for international law or human dignity.</p>
Comment sent via Feed
12:01
113631290
<p>
Omar Chatriwala tweeted<br />
Just had a chat with Dorothy on the phone - she's in good spirits and anxious to write. Welcome home</p>
Comment sent via Facebook
11:56
113631290
<p>
<br />
Nelly posted on facebook<br />
I condemn any nation that treats journalist with disdain. They are meant to report things to the world the way they see things. So gagging or barring them shows the ills of such government.</p>
Comment sent via host
11:55
113631290
Hi we''re on air in a few minutes, post your comments here.
Dorothy is free
| Wednesday, 5 May 2011 | 12:00 - 12:30 GMT
She disappeared 19 days ago after arriving in Syria to cover the uprising against the Assad regime. Now Al Jazeera journalist is Dorothy Parvaz is free.
She holds U.S., Canadian and Iranian citizenship, and was detained in Damascus and then in Iran. She had no contact with outside world in that time.
Iran said she had tried to enter Syria on an expired Iranian passport. Iran does not recognise dual nationalities. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson also told reporters in Tehran that Ms Parvaz "did not have a work permit". Ramin Mehmanparast said she had attempted "to enter a country on two illegal counts".
Foreign journalists have been banned from entering Syria during it's crackdown on protestors.
Meanwhile the Syrian government has disputed claims that a mass grave was found in the southern city of Deraa. Syrian human rights activists and residents said more than 20 bodies had been exhumed from one mass grave, and that others had been found in the area. They also said 41 other bodies were found in fields around nearby towns.
There have been worldwide calls for the release of Dorothy Parvaz from international press freedom organisations, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, and from many of Parvaz's colleagues.
Her detention shows the risks faced by journalists and news organisations in covering in uprisings across the Middle East.
She is one of the few foreign journalists who attempted to enter Syria to cover the violence and protests. A huge facebook and twitter campaign got underway demanding her release.
Gillian Alexander poted on the free Dorothy Parvaz facebook page
"good to hear the news!! but there should not be a repeat of this with any more journalists and other innocent civilians who are just doing their job..."
Nancy Holohan posted on the same page
"I believe that one person can make a difference and when we come together, our voice becomes much louder and that's a very good thing."
We have few details about how she was treated and the circumstances surrounding of her release, but we'll be speaking again to one of her friends who has had email contact with her since she was freed.
Your comments
Comment sent via Feed
<p> <br /> Markham tweeted<br /> Delighted to hear that Dorothy Parvaz has been set free:</p>
Comment sent via Feed
<p> Leila tweeted<br /> Hearing that Dorothy Parvaz is finally free after she went missing 18 days ago. Great news!</p>
Comment sent via Feed
<p> Bethan Howe tweeted<br /> great news that Dorothy Parvaz is free, just hope she's ok and gets back to her loved ones asap</p>
Comment sent via unknown: 23057
@成人论坛_WHYS I'm glad that she was released. I hope more will be released. Sadiq from Nigeria
Comment sent via Feed
<p> Gabriela Discenza tweeted Dorothy is finally free!!! Iran's gvmt finally did something right!</p>
Comment sent via Feed
<p> Evakatrina tweeted<br /> Thank God, Alhamdulillah, good news about dorothy parvaz. She's safe in Qatar and will be coming back to Canada.</p>
Comment sent via Facebook
<p> Abdul posed on facebook<br /> the Syrian government should now stop gagging the media.</p>
Comment sent via Facebook
<p> Randy posted on facebook<br /> If the Syria government felt they had evidence she was a threat to their security (a spy) they should have deported her. This will only give fodder to the world in seeing that the current Syrian regime has little regard for international law or human dignity.</p>
Comment sent via Feed
<p> Omar Chatriwala tweeted<br /> Just had a chat with Dorothy on the phone - she's in good spirits and anxious to write. Welcome home</p>
Comment sent via Facebook
<p> <br /> Nelly posted on facebook<br /> I condemn any nation that treats journalist with disdain. They are meant to report things to the world the way they see things. So gagging or barring them shows the ills of such government.</p>
Comment sent via host
Hi we''re on air in a few minutes, post your comments here.