Detained journalist Dorothy Parvaz has been released by Iranian authorities and arrived in Qatar early this morning, her fiance said. Todd Barker said Parvaz was safe and healthy, “just a little tired. … The family and me are elated, and we’re really grateful to the Iranian authorities who treated her very respectfully,” Barker said. “It’s over.”
Barker said Parvaz told him that she hadn’t called him sooner because she was being held in solitary confinement in Evin prison in Tehran.
EGYPT: Suzanne Mubarak relinquishes assets.
Egypt’s Justice Ministry ordered the wife of deposed President Hosni Mubarak released from custody without bail, after she relinquished her disputed assets to the state. Suzanne Mubarak, 70, turned over property and money valued at about $4 million. The move aimed to settle corruption allegations against her; it was unclear whether she still faces trial. Egyptian media reports suggest Hosni Mubarak, 83, is planning to issue an apology for misdeeds while in office.
SYRIA: Protesters plan general strike today.
Syrian protesters called for a one-day nationwide general strike, urging students to skip school and workers to bring commerce to a halt in a new strategy of defiance against government crackdowns that appear to be turning more brutal and bloody. The strike, planned for today, marks a shift to strike at President Bashar Assad’s regime from its economic underpinnings and ability to keep the country running. Denver Post wire services
