Dorothy Parvaz, former P-I reporter, missing in Syria

Dorothy Parvaz, pictured in a portrait taken while she was with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. This photo has been released for use by other media with mandatory credit to Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com. Dorothy Parvaz, pictured in a portrait taken while she was with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. This photo has been released for use by other media with mandatory credit to Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com. Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Dorothy Parvaz, former P-I reporter, missing in Syria 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

Dorothy Parvaz, a former reporter and columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is missing in Syria.

Al Jazeera, for whom Parvaz works, reports that she arrived in Damascus on Friday and that the network has had no contact with her since.

Speaking Monday morning, the reporter's father, Fred Parvaz of North Vancouver, British Columbia, said his daughter had recently returned from covering the earthquake that ravaged Japan when she headed for Syria.

"She's a very adventurous journalist," Fred Parvaz told seattlepi.com "She really lives the job. ...

"She didn't say anything, because she knew we'd object."

Todd Barker, who is Parvaz's fiance, said he spoke to her by telephone the night before she left for Syria. She didn't express any concerns about traveling there.

"That wasn't Dororthy. There was no trepidation," Barker said.

Barker and Parvaz's family are working through various embassies to find her and secure her release, he said.

Barker and Parvaz's family also released a statement:

"Dorothy Parvaz is a dearly loved daughter, sister and fiancée. We haven't heard from her in four days and believe that she is being held by the Syrian government. Dorothy is a global citizen – she grew up in Iran, UAE, Canada and the United States, where she became a determined journalist.

"She is dedicated to the profession as a force for peace and justice in the world. She has worked at newspapers across the globe, from Japan to Arizona, from Seattle, Wash., to Doha, Qatar, where she now works for Al Jazeera English online. She has always known who she was, whether buying groceries for her grandmother in Tehran or covering the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan. She is tough and she is a fighter – no doubt, she is stronger than us. We need to know where she is. We need to know who is holding her, and that she is comfortable. She is very loved. We need to know that she is safe."

Fred Parvaz said he is worried for his daughter's safety, a concern shared by her employer.

"We are concerned for Dorothy's safety and wellbeing," an Al Jazeera spokesperson said in a statement, as reported by the network. "We are requesting full cooperation from the Syrian authorities to determine how she was processed at the airport and what her current location is. We want her returned to us immediately."

It seems probable that Parvaz, 39, is being held at the Damascus airport.

Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., is preparing to file a formal inquiry with the State Department regarding Parvaz's disappearance. Spokesman Matt McAlvanah said the senator is "aware and concerned" about of the situation.

From the Al Jazeera report:

Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), told Al Jazeera there was "strong evidence" to suggest Parvaz had been detained at Damascus airport.

"Obviously we are worried for the safety of Dorothy, specifically, as we are for numerous other journalists who are in government custody right now," said Dayem.

He said up to a couple of dozen journalists had been detained in Syria since the current unrest began in mid-March with the number held fluctuating on a daily basis "between a handful and a dozen."

A "Free Dorothy Parvaz" Facebook page was launched earlier Monday. The Twitter hashtag #FreeDorothy is also in use.

Born in Iran, Parvaz's connection to the Muslim world shaped her reporting while she was with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Shortly after 9/11, she wore the traditional Islamic clothing and wrote about Seattle's reaction to her and her feelings; five years later, she traveled to Iran and issued a series of reports published in the newspaper.

She was born in and spent some of her childhood in Iran before moving to Canada, where she graduated from high school and obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia, Fred Parvaz told seattlepi.com. Parvaz's father is Canadian-Iranian and her mother is American.

Parvaz later studied journalism at the University of Arizona, her father said. She reported in Japan for the English edition of the Asahi Shimbun before coming to Seattle, where she worked for The Seattle Times before joining the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

As the paper stopped printing in March 2009, Parvaz was taking part in a fellowship at Harvard University and studied at Cambridge University in London before joining Al Jazeera.

An U.S. citizen, Parvaz was likely traveling on an Iranian passport when she arrived in Syria, her father said. She also holds a Canadian passport.

Scott Sunde can be reached at 206-448-8331 or scottsunde@seattlepi.com. Follow Scott on Twitter at twitter.com/scottsunde.



