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n this undated photo, Dorothy Parvaz, a former Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter, is shown. Parvaz, an Al-Jazeera journalist has not been heard from since she entered Syria on Friday to report on the political turmoil there, the Arab satellite TV station said Monday.Joshua Trujillo

Al-Jazeera is asking Syria for the immediate release of a B.C. woman arrested while on assignment for the English-language news network after officials in the middle-eastern country confirmed today that they have detained Dorothy Parvaz.

The network says Parvaz was arrested upon her arrival in Damascus six days ago and has had no contact with anyone since.

A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Ms. Parvaz joined Al-Jazeera last year.

She has Canadian, U.S. and Iranian citizenship, and was based in Qatar when she was sent on assignment to report on the protests in Syria.

Other reporters were expelled from Syria several weeks ago and although journalists from Al-Jazeera were allowed to remain, they faced increasing harassment from security forces.

A statement from Ms. Parvaz's family posted to the network's website appeals for information, saying her family needs to know where she is, that she is comfortable and that she is safe.

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