Washington, D.C., December 4, 2009 – Christine Levinson, marking the 1,000th day since her husband disappeared in Iran, appealed directly to the Iranian people via the Voice of America (VOA) to "help me find my husband and bring him home."
Mrs. Levinson, speaking on the Persian News Network (PNN), said, "Iranians understand family and how important it is. My family cannot be whole and celebrate anything, such as anniversaries, birthdays, birth of children, without my husband."
Robert Levinson, a former employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was on a business trip to Kish Island, Iran when he disappeared on March 9, 2007. He is the father of seven children.
Mrs. Levinson, noting that the family's second granddaughter was born after Levinson went missing, said, "I'm hoping that the Iranian people will help me find my husband and bring him home so that he can celebrate Grace’s first birthday in December."
During her appearance on PNN's News & Views, an evening television broadcast, Mrs. Levinson appealed to any Iranians with knowledge of her husband's whereabouts to contact the FBI, the Swiss Embassy in Teheran, or her website: www.helpboblevinson.com. There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to his discovery. The Swiss Embassy represents U.S. interests in the absence of normal diplomatic relations.
In December 2007, Mrs. Levinson traveled to Iran to inquire about her husband's disappearance.
PNN has the largest combined radio and television audience of all international broadcasters in Iran, with one in four adult Iranians tuning in to a VOA show at least once a week. PNN broadcasts seven hours of television daily, repeated in a 24-hour format, and five hours of radio. Broadcasts are available on demand on the Internet at www.VOAPNN.com.
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 125 million people. Programs are produced in 45 languages and are intended exclusively for audiences outside of the United States.
For more information, call VOA Public Relations at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail askvoa@voanews.com.
Robert Levinson disappeared in March 2007
