{"id":80792,"date":"2017-01-31T03:06:41","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T03:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/?p=80792"},"modified":"2017-02-06T11:42:36","modified_gmt":"2017-02-06T11:42:36","slug":"like-being-arrested-in-iran-bbc-journalist-detained-interrogated-at-us-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/like-being-arrested-in-iran-bbc-journalist-detained-interrogated-at-us-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Like Being Arrested In Iran\u2019 \u2014 BBC Journalist Detained, Interrogated At US Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-80797 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/FREETHOUGHT-Journalist-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<p><!--Ads6--><\/p>\n<p>By:\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/thefreethoughtproject.com\/author\/clairebernish\/\">Claire Bernish<\/a>\u00a0\/ <a href=\"http:\/\/thefreethoughtproject.com\/\">The Free Thought Project<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0Chicago \u2014<b><i>\u00a0\u201cI was arrested back home in Iran in 2009 because I was working for the BBC. It felt the same this time,\u201d<\/i><\/b> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-38792958\">observed<\/a> <i>BBC World Service<\/i> journalist Ali Hamedani, after being detained at Chicago\u2019s O\u2019Hare Airport thanks to the ban on refugees and clamp down on immigration.<\/p>\n<p>Allow a moment to consider the irony of such a comparison \u2014 particularly in the context of the executive order\u2019s stated purpose of combating terrorism imported from despotic nations.<\/p>\n<p>At an American airport, Hamedani \u2014 a <i>BBC<\/i> journalist and British citizen \u2014 endured over two hours of interrogation by U.S. border agents because, at one time, he hailed from Iran. But Hamedani no longer even possesses an Iranian passport due to his employment with the <i>BBC<\/i> since 2009.<\/p>\n<p>Agents requested Hamedani hand over his cell phone \u2014 commandeering it in a manner leaving it unlocked and searchable.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">When phone was siezed it took me a few mins to remember here is the US and no one can question me about my viewes. He was reading my tweets.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ali Hamedani (@BBCHamedani) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BBCHamedani\/status\/825811009294180355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 29, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>\u201cThey took away my phone and started searching my Twitter account. So, they were looking to find out about my political views, whether I\u2019m \u2018supporting\u2019 anybody \u2014 any kind of extremist view or not,\u201d<\/i> he told Stephen Nolan in an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/p04r7hv3\">interview<\/a> for <i>BBC Radio<\/i>\u2019s <i>5 live<\/i>. <i>\u201cI was also asked questions like if I had been training with the military in Iran \u2026 When was the last time I\u2019d been home in Iran.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><!--Ads7--><\/p>\n<p>Hamedani had traveled from London\u2019s Heathrow Airport on his way to Los Angeles when border agents detained him for his Iranian roots. But considering the journalist hasn\u2019t even possessed an Iranian passport \u2014 nor has he been allowed to enter the country \u2014 in eight years, the encounter evinces astonishing scrutiny with which Trump\u2019s ban is being enforced.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Hamedani indicated the agents were entirely unreasonable, putting suspicions before evidence \u2014 making the lengthy detainment more inquisition-style harassment than simple questioning.<\/p>\n<p>Returning to Iran wouldn\u2019t be an option, he explained to interrogators, because of the fact he works for the <i>BBC<\/i> \u2014 a media agency the Iranian government does not find favorable \u2014 would see him arrested by authorities.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><i>\u201cBut still, I couldn\u2019t convince the guy,\u201d<\/i><\/strong> Hamedani said of a border agent, <i>\u201cbecause he kept questioning me about an Iranian passport; why I\u2019m holding a British passport; why didn\u2019t I enter the country with an Iranian passport.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Nothing the journalist told the interrogators satisfied suspicions he somehow still held strong ties to Iran \u2014 one of seven predominantly Muslim nations targeted by the temporary halt on immigration.<\/p>\n<p>Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen also made Trump\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/thefreethoughtproject.com\/trumps-refugees-crisis-terrorists\/\">list of verboten countries<\/a> \u2014 none of which have had civilian or government connections to any terror attacks on U.S. soil.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, citizens of the blacklisted nations already en route to the United States to immigrate legally suddenly found themselves in a new refugee status \u2014 some, unable to stay, faced possible arrest or death upon returning to their nation of origin.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, the absurdity fell hard on Iraqi, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2017-01-29\/hameed-darweesh-iraqi-refugee-detained-at-jfk-after-trump-order\/8221412\">detained<\/a> in New York\u2019s Kennedy Airport at the nascent stages of the ban.<\/p>\n<p>Darweesh signed up to work as an interpreter for the U.S. military in 2003 upon the invasion of Iraq, and later worked as a contract engineer \u2014 literally putting his life on the line on both the battlefield and in the betrayal of his nation\u2019s government.<\/p>\n<p>Returning to Iraq after receiving official permission to enter the U.S. would be an act of suicide.<\/p>\n<p>Darweesh\u2019s case garnered the international spotlight and attention from the American Civil Liberties Union, which <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BFriedmanDC\/status\/825549592355807233\">filed<\/a> an emergency intervention order to allow his release. That order allowed a temporary stay from several federal judges in a smattering of similar incidents, permitting those with valid visas or green cards who had already set foot on U.S. soil to remain in the country.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hameed stopped Trump. He also once dragged wounded troops to safety. How much does this guy have to do for America before we get it together <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gCoQGNMBwg\">pic.twitter.com\/gCoQGNMBwg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BFriedmanDC\/status\/825549592355807233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 29, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>\u201c<\/i><em>This is the soul of America<\/em>,<i>\u201d <\/i>Darweesh <a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2017-01-29\/hameed-darweesh-iraqi-refugee-detained-at-jfk-after-trump-order\/8221412\">told<\/a> a waiting crowd of protesters\u00a0upon his release from custody.\u00a0<i>\u201c<\/i><em>This is what pushed me to leave my country and come here.<i>\u201d<\/i><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But the scrutiny Hamedani, Darweesh, and others were subjected to suggest an authoritarian, letter-of-the-law interpretation of the refugee ban \u2014 portending an ominous future of the nation once cherished as the world\u2019s melting pot.<\/p>\n<p>Hamedani explained it seemed the agents <i>\u201cwere basically cross-checking what I told them when I applied for an \u2018I\u2019 visa last year, because I saw the guy was holding my visa application form\u201d<\/i> they\u2019d printed, asking the same questions as if to ensure he hadn\u2019t lied.<\/p>\n\n<p>Asked by Nolan whether the interaction was intimidating, the journalist\u00a0replied,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t pleasant at all. To be honest with you, I was arrested back home in Iran in 2009, because I was working for the BBC \u00a0\u2014 and I felt the same this time, when they took away my phone and laptop, and the guy was trying to keep my phone unlocked. And it was like, \u2018So, are they going to search what I\u2019m writing? Do they care about it? Why are they doing it?\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Perhaps it isn\u2019t only those who hail from blacklisted nations who should be concerned with Trump\u2019s flurry of sweeping executive actions \u2014 will journalists specifically now be targeted, too?<\/p>\n<p>Hamedani noted the agent stated it wasn\u2019t the journalism career that was the focus of questions \u2014 but his own story hints otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>A single bright moment for Hamedani happened upon his release, when a group of about 50 people \u2014 who had followed the journalist\u2019s tweets narrating the detainment \u2014 welcomed him upon release. Many of these Americans \u2014 some of Afghan and Iranian descent \u2014 were waiting for immigrants and passengers at the airport while figuring out the implications of Trump\u2019s travel restrictions.<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cThey hugged me and they welcomed me,\u201d<\/i> Hamedani said. And these foreign-born U.S. citizens reassured him,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b><i>\u201cThis is not the real America. We are the real American people.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Click <a href=\"http:\/\/thefreethoughtproject.com\/journalist-airport-interrogation-iran\/\">here <\/a>to watch video.<\/p>\n<p><em>What are your thoughts?<\/em> <strong>Please comment below <\/strong>and<strong> share this news!<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>This article (<a href=\"https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/like-being-arrested-in-iran-bbc-journalist-detained-interrogated-at-us-airport\/\">Like Being Arrested In Iran\u2019 \u2014 BBC Journalist Detained, Interrogated At US Airport<\/a>) by <em><a href=\"http:\/\/thefreethoughtproject.com\/author\/clairebernish\/\">Claire Bernish <\/a><\/em>is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a <a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\"><em>Creative Commons<\/em><\/a> license with attribution to the author and <a href=\"http:\/\/thefreethoughtproject.com\/\"><em>TheFreeThoughtProject.com.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By:\u00a0Claire Bernish\u00a0\/ The Free Thought Project\u00a0 \u00a0Chicago \u2014\u00a0\u201cI was arrested back home in Iran in 2009 because I was working for the BBC. It felt the same this time,\u201d observed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1819,"featured_media":80797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[66,3,6],"tags":[1794,1764,1768,1762],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Like Being Arrested In Iran\u2019 \u2014 BBC Journalist Detained, Interrogated At US Airport - True Activist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/like-being-arrested-in-iran-bbc-journalist-detained-interrogated-at-us-airport\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Like Being Arrested In Iran\u2019 \u2014 BBC Journalist Detained, Interrogated At US Airport - True Activist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By:\u00a0Claire Bernish\u00a0\/ The Free Thought Project\u00a0 \u00a0Chicago \u2014\u00a0\u201cI was arrested back home in Iran in 2009 because I was working for the BBC. 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