Living in Northern Tehran, she is a prominent anchor at Press TV and enjoys a great reputation among people. If you have not heard of her before or seen her direct action in journalism, take a look at her Instagram account; she is a sensitive person who enjoys life just like any other person. But you also might come to understand from her posts that people like Donald Trump have the right to fear her. She has been advocating causes of the oppressed people across the world; such as the causes of Palestinians suffering from Israeli apartheid and the Yemeni people under the US-backed Saudi war. Among other activities, she has been speaking up against American imperialism and exposing what African Americans suffer from in the so-called land of the free, AH Tribune reported
As an African-American, she has personally experienced the sting of disrespect on the basis of skin color and has suffered discrimination whether subtly or explicitly. US mainstream media is also involved in furthering stereotypes regarding African-Americans, just like on other matters based on supremacist interests. US mainstream media regularly creates a narrative that fits its needs regardless of the means and the cost. Marzieh is a Black American with a weapon of defense; a voice that speaks the truth. This has helped break the silence on her illegal arrest and ill-treatment. With more news pieces and stories emerging on Hashemi, one cannot but notice the “oh its an Iranian-State TV anchor”, and “well Iran claims she was illegally arrested”.
Being critical of this mainstream reality-manufactured discourse, if Press TV is a state-TV, BBC, France 24, and even CNN, and Fox news are not “less state TVs” than Press TV.
If the story was different, with a white grandmother in her 60s being arrested, without charges and badly treated, would silence have prevailed then or would the story have made news headlines with the western media turning that white grandmother into a heroine?
Unconstitutional Arrest
Ricardo J. Bascuas, a professor at the University of Miami School of Law, elaborated on the legal aspects of Hashemi's imprisonment in an interview with the English language news channel Press TV.
According to the TV’s website, Bascuas explained that the “Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution plainly makes it unconstitutional to detain any witness because, by definition, there is never “probable cause” to believe a witness committed a crime.” He also noted that the Fourth Amendment forbids “unreasonable” seizures".
"An unreasonable seizure is one that is irrational or arbitrary — i.e., based on hunches or gut feelings rather than facts. By definition, there is never good cause to believe a witness probably committed a crime. So, the Fourth Amendment plainly forbids arresting a witness," he explained.
Hashemi’s son had told news outlets earlier that the information so far available to her family is that she has been detained as a “material witness”. There aren’t any charges against her.
Bascuas, on that note, explained that the word "material" cannot be precisely defined. The constitutionality of the material witness law has "never been meaningfully tested", according to Bascuas, and “the government only relies on it when they need a reason to arrest somebody but they don't have one".
A Loud Voice vs. International Silence
Trump has all the right to fear Mrs. Hashemi; she is a genuine American citizen who has been fearlessly voicing support to the oppressed around the world. She has the guts to say “yes; America is not as great as they make people think, no, Occupied Palestine is not Israel, it was not and will never be the land of the Israeli apartheid regime, and yes Trump is violating laws, rights, and indeed milking the Saudi Wahhabi regime badly. She bravely speaks out on being a Black American, stating with her own words that as a Black American in the US, you will have to work very hard, twice as hard to get half as far and you never let anyone stop you”.
However, the US cannot tolerate the ideas of those who oppose it.
FBI has forced an American citizen her free right of choosing what to wear, what to say and what to eat. Reports said Mrs. Hashemi has been treated badly, stripped off her Hijab, and denied her Halal food. As a Muslim woman, forcing her to remove her head scarf is a deprivation of the most basic and essential human right. Her indiscriminate detention is a clear manifestation of US arbitrary arrest and torture and amount to a blatant violation of freedom of thought and expression. International human rights organizations and institutions must have the backbone to weigh in and help secure Mrs. Hashemi’s freedom.
The US political institution is dragging the American people down a road they surely do not want to travel. Washington, especially post-Trump, has become notorious for its racism towards immigrants, African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, and all those who are not “White”. The US audacity has allowed it to be complicit in wars across the world; it has been staging wars and interfering in all sorts of internal affairs of independent countries. Just lately in 2018, the US has been complicit in the weirdest violations of human rights. Of course, everyone remembers the bone saw story of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident with three US citizen children who was chopped into pieces in the Saudi consulate in Turkey with US unspoken consent.
With people like [National Security Advisor] John Bolton and [US Secretary of State] Michael Pompeo appointed in what acts like a racial incorporation, it is not surprising to see such an arrest of Mrs. Hashemi with no mention whatsoever of engagement in illegal activities. She is innocent and must be released immediately.
America Fourth Deadliest for Journalists
In its latest annual report on violence against journalists around the world, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) found a frightening if unsurprising trend: all the figures RSF tracks have risen in 2018, including "murders, imprisonment, hostage-taking, and enforced disappearances." The totals for 2018 include 80 journalists murdered, 348 currently imprisoned, 60 taken hostages, and three currently missing. Surprisingly, nearly half of the slain journalists were killed in countries that did not face conflict or war, according to Reporters Without Borders.
However, this is the real piece of news: the US has earned a shameful distinction in topping the 2018 report on violence against journalists, being the fourth deadliest country worldwide. Among the people featured on the magazine covers were slain Khashoggi who had become a harsh critic of Trump in 2017, Reuters reporters KyawSoeOo and Wa Lone, both sentenced to seven years for exposing the murders of 10 Rohingya Muslims.
Hashemi, like many other journalists, has been exposing the wrongdoings of the US and other governments involved in violence across the world and violated international law frequently. Perhaps, Mrs. Hashemi, who has been powerfully addressing topics that provoke the US, represents the most oppressed people in today's world by being a Muslim woman, Black and anti-Zionist and anti-imperialist. Mrs. Hashemi’s supporters have taken to social media and vowed the will not stop until she's released or her name reaches the ears of the masses.
Source: FNA