Now Which One is the Authoritarian State?

Haleh Esfaniari, director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, went to Iran in 2006 to visit her ailing mother. But the Iranian government accused her of being a spy and threw her into prison. Reportedly, she hasn't been allowed to talk to her family in America since she was imprisoned, so her husband, Shaul Bakhash, is likely very concerned. And his mood probably wasn't helped when he received a letter from Citibank in May 2007 saying it had frozen his wife's account since she is now a "resident" of Iran. The bank says it is merely complying with U.S. sanctions against Iran.