Concern grows in The Netherlands over woman held in Iranian prison

As concern grows about woman held in an Iranian prison, the caretaker foreign minister of The Netherlands Maxime Verhagen has asked the Dutch embassy in Tehran to demand access to Zahra Bahrami - a dual Dutch-Iranian national.

According to the Volkskrant daily, Bahrami's daughter has asked the Dutch government for support and says her “mother is panicking because she fears being sentenced to death.” She is due to appear in court on August 28 before judge Abolghassem Salavati, who has gained the reputation as the “judge of death”. Amnesty International, the human rights advocacy organization, was alerted about Bahrami's plight one week ago. The family had kept quiet up to now fearing publicity could harm her case. 

Bahrami has been accused of possession of drugs as well as subversive activities. Arrested in December 2009 after the clamp down after anti-government demonstrations, the 45-year-old woman had lived in the Netherlands for a number of years, and was in Iran to visit one of her children. According to de Volkskrant, there are currently five Dutch nationals in Iranian prisons.