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Iason Athanasiadis interviewed by Joe Rubin on Frontline/World's iWitness

This is not your expected tale of a three-week stint in an Iranian prison. Photojournalist Iason Athanasiadis-Fowden, who was in Iran covering the recent disputed elections and massive protests that followed, was trying to leave the country ahead of his visa expiring when he was arrested and charged with espionage. He spoke to us over Skype from his parents' home in Greece shortly after being released from prison.

As you will see, there are moments in his retelling that are both humorous and terrifying. The fact that Athanasiadis-Fowden has spent several years reporting from Iran, speaks the language, and understands the culture certainly helped his cause.

Project

After a hotly contested presidential election that resulted in street riots and a disputed claim to a renewed mandate by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran stands at a crossroads: between reformist and conservative leadership, between its revolutionary past and its post-revolutionary future.
June 17, 2010 / Virginia Quarterly Review
by Iason Athanasiadis
Iason Athanasiadis was the only foreign journalist to be detained during Iran's post-election unrest. Here he writes about the weeks he spent inside and outside Evin Prison before and after the...
March 17, 2010 / Nieman Reports
by Nathalie Applewhite
In an article on how he brings foreign news reporting to new audiences, photojournalist Iason Athanasiadis pays tribute to the Pulitzer Center for funding his past reporting projects in Iran, Turke