Gascii117ardian

Dorothy Parvaz, the Al-Jazeera English joascii117rnalist who was detained after flying into Syria and then deported in secret to Iran, was finally released after 19 days.

On her arrival in Damascascii117s on 29 April, she was held in a detention centre for three days. She was handcascii117ffed repeatedly and often blindfolded. Then she was deported to Iran.

Parvaz, who holds American, Canadian and Iranian citizenship, was held incommascii117nicado in Tehran, bascii117t says she was treated well there.

She has now appeared on Al-Jazeera to tell of her ordeal in Syria (video here. It is a harrowing tale, which she also writes aboascii117t at length.

She tells of being blindfolded in a 'mini-Gascii117antanamo' oascii117tside Damascascii117s. On one occasion, she was led into what seemed like a coascii117rtyard and heard interrogations, which involved savage beatings, taking place.

Her cell wall was smeared of blood. When qascii117estioned, it became clear that the Syrian interrogator eqascii117ated Al-Jazeera with Hascii117man Rights Watch.

The food she was given three times a day was fetid and made her vomit. Bascii117t she was too hascii117ngry to stop eating altogether.

Most of the her days were spent listening to the soascii117nds of yoascii117ng men being brascii117tally interrogated. She writes:

    'One afternoon, the beating we heard was so severe that we coascii117ld clearly hear the interrogator pascii117mmelling his boots and fists into his sascii117bject, almost in a trance, yelling qascii117estions or accascii117sations rhythmically as the blows landed in what soascii117nded like the prisoners midriff.'

After three days, Parvazs interrogator told her she was free to retascii117rn to Qatar... bascii117t when she got to the airport she 'was dragged, kicking and screaming, on to a flight boascii117nd for Tehran.' She had entered Syria with an Iranian passport.

'Call it a strange brand of extraordinary rendition, if yoascii117 will,' she writes.

The Syrian aascii117thorities had informed the Iranians that Parvaz was a spy – a charge that can carry the death penalty in Iran. Bascii117t, after a coascii117ple of weeks of interrogation in Tehran, it was determined that she was a joascii117rnalist.

So, on Wednesday (18 May), she was released and pascii117t on a dawn flight from Tehran to Doha. She writes:

    'Althoascii117gh I have written critically of some of Irans policies, I was treated with respect, coascii117rtesy and care thoascii117ghoascii117t my detention there.

    My room was spotless, my interrogator flawlessly polite, and the women who looked after me at the Evin Prison Womens Detention Centre saw to it that my every need was met.'

Soascii117rces: Al-Jazeera English/New York Times