Iranian TV anchor held as witness is released from US jail

WASHINGTON (AP) — An attorney with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee says an Iranian television anchorwoman has been released from a U.S. jail.

Abed Ayoub said Marzieh Hashemi was released Wednesday after being detained for more than a week in Washington.

A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Hashemi fulfilled her obligation as a material witness and was released. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Court papers didn’t include details about the criminal case in which she was named a witness.

Hashemi was detained by federal agents last week in St. Louis and transported to Washington.

Hashemi was born as Melanie Franklin in New Orleans. She works for the Press TV network’s English-language service.