>> hello, everybody. and this is aljazeera america. i'm david schuster in new york, and john seigenthaler is off. oil futures, the republican-led house has approved the keystone pipeline. will it be

first time that the house has passed xl legislation. the question is whether it can be any further. days into the lame duck session, it gives special exemptions to all of the other type lines and all the oil and bass activity. that makes very little sense. >> is the real battle ground on capitol hill, the senate, where the democratic leadership is letting the vote go forward

since tuesday. mary landrieu faces a tough runoff to keep her seat in the pro oil state of indiana. even if it does pass, president obama's signature is in doubt. he weighed in 8,000 miles away during a press conference in myanmar. >> i have been declared. my position hasn't changed. and this is a process that has to be followed. >> the state department said that the review plays out. once in nebraska, the possible route. and then headline supporters on its benefits. >> i have to constantly push back against this idea that somehow the keystone pine line is a massive job bill, or lowering gas prices. upwards what it is. it's providing the ability of canada to pump their oil, send

it through our land, down to the gulf, where it will be sold everywhere else. >> if the keystone legislation fails this time around, republicans will bring it back up in january where they control both bodies of congress and try again. next step, the senate and the game of counting votes to see if keystone has a chance of passing. david? >> libby, thank you. supporters of keystone boast the potential for jobs, and oppose say there won't be any jobs. jay, let's talk about the risk. if it's actually nil, what is the likelihood that keystone could leak? >> well, david, experts have said for years that pipelines are in fact the safest way to move petroleum from one place to another. we have seen many rail disasters, with the supply. but the problem is, however

huge keystone would be, you simply can't be everywhere at once, and it's sort of that out of sight, out of mind that can create havoc. in a report from the world tradwall streetjournal, in 19% t was people who happened to be in the area that spotted leaks in major pipelines. a farmer in south dakota had to use his nose to detect crude, which was 40,000 gallons of oil spilling into his wheat field. that's just a tremendous problem. so the consideration here is that we're talking about such a massive pipeline, both new construction from canada to the u.s., and the condition of existing construction down to

the gulf of mexico. it's such a big pipeline bisecting the country, that no one can effectively watch it. >> and the oil that would be carried, how harmful is it to the environment? >> oil as a basic substance, it's quite, quite harmful. the ratio is 1 to 1 million. one drop of oil can contaminate 1 million drops of water, and it's bad stuff. with small mammals, there's no way for a human being to expel oil. as it moves up the food chain, to predators, it can move down into plant and fungus life. it's toxic stuff. and so this is going to be a real test of our desire for better processing of oil and moving it to market and our tolerance for nasty stuff when it gets into the environment. >> jay, appreciate it. the u.s. senate preparing

to vote on tuesday, and we'll examine the issued around the pipeline. keystone, boom or bust. it's at 11:30 p.m. eastern time. and now to iraq and the battle against isil. today, the battle moved to the oil refinery. the government said that they have taken the town of baiji. and they are heading to the refinery that isil took in june. in a series of setbacks for isil, fighters were killed in airstrikes in the town of kobane. in the operation desert storms, he's now a senior fell on, and mike t. groat to have you here. iraqi forces are able to push isle out of baiji, and what does this mean for iraq's ability to defeat isil. >> it's a big win. it defines them with the u.s.

airstrikes. and it's a recipe for success. it's a very strategic location. and if they give back the refinery, it will be a big win to bypass the other towns that isis hold. >> it's possible that the u.s. could send small teams of advisers to essentially lead the iraqi combat troops on the ground, and is that a good idea. >> yes, it's going to be above the 3,000 on the ground right now, put eyes on the ground. and closer to where the targets would be. they have say very tough mission. and they have to get 80,000 troops ready to go on the offensive by the spring. to get those troops ready, to do that, you have to get american confidence closer. >> take us where those battlefield units would go, in terms of the maps and what the strategy would be. >> so they bypassed the town of

tikrit, and in the north, it's very strategic, in that there's an airstrip currently controlled by isis, but should america send ground forces, general dempsey made a comment about protecting the border there. you could send ground forces to that location, and they would send a blocking force for isis to retreat back into syria, and allow the troops to go back to mosul. mosul is the key city in the northern part of iraq that has to be the defensive operation. >> how difficult would that be? >> it would be difficult. it would take months to plan, and they would have to go through multiple scenarios. and that tells me that they want to attack at a three times ratio. isil has 40,000.

and if you put ten times that, they should be able to accomplish it. >> there's news that others are working with isis in syria, and how big of a threat will that become? >> these are groups that are fierce enemies of each other. and the leaders hate each other. this could be a russia and germany pact that we saw in world war ii, you can see them turn against each and. and i don't see them coordinating anything. but i see them standing at arm's length, an length and agrt to compete with each other right now. iraqi and syran forces can take back tikrit and the target is mosul. 23 themosul if they can get thay back, with over 1 million

people, they can get back to syria. >> mike, appreciate it. many muslims around the globe say that this were voices of moderation have been drown out by groups like isil. and now a muslim youth group is reaching out, they have a plan to stop isil's call to violence. >> in the prayers, with the united nations, the youth association is confronting a different problem. muslim youth who become radicalized. >> we have a trend with isil, for example, lone wolves in the united states, time square, and my hometown, portland, oregon. >> it's a problem for the somali community in indianapolis. >> we have lost a lot of kids to al shab at and isis.

they seem to be very effective. >> in new york, representatives of 30 nations, including the u.s., are exploring ideas for how they keep their unique safe. >> we wanted to work with the u.n. lead,, and those who we can share w how you replicate this around the world. >> about 100 merns have attempted to join isil. some, like douglas mccain, were killed in syria, and others are accused of the boston marathon bombings that killed americans. >> it means so much to me. >> he believes that education is the key to changing minds. >>is >> i think i can definitely

tell them what the true teachings are, and what they're going to do, and what islam says about what they were going to do. >> love for all, patriot for none. >> after friday prayers, they discussed solutions, recognizing that communicating with young people has a new skill set. mohammed came with new advice for his community. >> it's a society that's connected, it's social, it's modern, and people can communicate through words. we do not need the guns and the swords to communicate with each other. >> they say the youth of the amodeia muslim youth association understand that idea. but the challenge is to convince other men and women to reject the call to take up arms. >> president obama is wrapping up his week-long trip to asia with the stop at the g20 economic summit in australia. the president arrived in abs

aus today and met with prime minister tony abbott. and he will meet with other leaders tonight and discuss the u.s.' role in the asia pacific region. before that, he met with the top opposition leader. he criticized the law that said that she can not run for president because her children have british passports. she was kept under house arrest for nearly 15 years. president obama confirmed support for her and the country's move toward democracy. there's more violent unrest today in the west bank. six palestinians were injured in clashes with israeli security forces. it came one day after israel lifted the forces. they have been trying to ease tensions boiling over for months. tens of thousands of muslims gathered to pray. and nick schiffrin has the

latest from jerusalem. >> good evening, it was a dramatic change, and you could feel it in the air outside of the mosque. the tension between the police and the israelis who have been advocating for more jewish access. that tension definitely calm, but as always here, the tension is still similar. between the walls of jerusalem's old city, taxi driver, hasi, would like the last 5 months to be in his rear-view mirror. >> how was it. >> it was tension between the palestinians and the jewish. >> this is the very steps that mohammed sat before sandying to heaven. reform. israeli police prevented young muslims from praying there. instead they have to pray in

the streets, nothing infuriates them more than. >> very very important to muslims. >> [ unintelligible ] for praying. >> today was different. after a u.s.-brokered deal, they allowed everyone in. he walked past the israeli police, who had been stopping him for six weeks, and friday became a family day. inside, 40,000 muslims filled the plaza. >> despite a muslims being allowed into the al axa mosque, the tension is just down the hill here. >> with the new neighbors we have, it's a lot of problems, every day. >> for more than 1,000 years, it has been arab, in 1967, israel captured and occupied t it's still palestinian, but a lot of settlers have been

moving in. their homes are a few doors away from faze's home. and they are defended bit police. >> it's not for the palestinians, they don't bring them to us. they bring them to help the jews that live here. >> over five noz in east jerusalem, the police have arrested 5,000 palestinians, an unprecedented crackdown. with the war in gaza, it led to tensions, and this month, it suddenly boiled. palestinians used cars and stabbings to kill more israelis in the past month than in the last two years. and on average this year, israeli forces have killed a palestinian in the occupied bank every five days. even today, israeli troops fired teargas at the protesters trying to get to jerusalem. >> jerusalem is at the heart of the conflict and the al axa

mosque, it's nope as the temple mountain, the most holy site in all of judaism. not only the restrictions put on them to access the mc, but the right ring jews. two weeks ago, the police code the al axa compound so he could walk around. but it's becoming more mainstream. >> now we're claiming to come up, to have a right to be there. we're not destroying anything. for all, we are peaceful >> so the tension over this site will remain, but today, it stays below the surface. >> it will be better. >> today, the mood is calm, but here, the guns, the guns, the guns are never far away.

and tonight, there were reports of those guns being used. one report, a young palestinian girl being shot by israeli forces, and another report, an israeli police officer has been injured. but compared to the last few hours and the last few weeks, a decision made almost, they definitely different utesed some of the tension, but this is a long-running conflict. and obviously, the tension remains below the surface. >> up next, conspiracy in the coal mine. a former ceo is facing charges over a deadly west virginia mine disaster. and the conversation with jon stewart, taking on his new movie, the curious subject of freedom of the press.

>> an ex-mining ceo is in trouble tonight on charges of fraud and deceiving i be inspectors. he was on hand in one of the worst mining disaster in decades. 29 people died in the explosion of west virginia's upper mine in 2010. and the disaster could have been avoid. jonathan bett is here. >> reporter: it's one of the worst disasters in a quarter of a century. a ceo was more concerned about profits than safety. in the end, it was agreed that led to the death of 29 people

at west virginia's upper bridge in 2010. the four-count indict, he knew that his mine was committing hundreds of safety of violations every year, in order to produce more coal, avoid the cost of safety laws and make more money. it details reckless disregard for his employees. he said, please be reminded that your core job is to make money. to do this, you have to run at a low cost, ship your orders and control your quality. in another letter to the executive, blankenship, furious that the mine wasn't producing more coal, you have a kid to feed. do your job. do you understand? blankenship's attorney said that he denies the charges, and he will be acquitted. saying this he's a tireless

advocate for safety. and his criticism of powerful bureaucrats is what led to this indictment. he repeatedly had corners cut. and ventilation shafts weren't dug, and the dr. eo conspired with managers to warn miners underground when surprise inspectors showed up. the safety of violations piled up. 835 in two years. until april of 2010, when prosecutors said ventilation led to an explosion of coal dust, leading to the worst mine disaster since 1984. blankenship left months after, with $86 million. and now he could face 31 years in prison. >> and report for green wire, covering the massive indictment and manuel, you interviewed

blankenship this past april. and what was his response to some of these alwayses? >> well, he has denied it all along. he has always said that the explosion was not caused by the reasons that the government and several investigations say. he said it was a sudden inundation of gas, and it was natural and unpreventable. and it had nothing to do with the safety practices at the company. in fact, he wants always said that his safety practices were stellar, he would say. and he says that he was once a miner, he has lived among them, and he was only worried about this were welfare. so he adamantly has always denied that he is at all responsible for the incident. >> hoe did his miners perceive it? >> well, we can see a lot from the reports. a lot of the reports, several investigating following the 2010 incident showed that the miners were concerned. and they felt the pressure. they were worried about their

lives. there are transcripts of people expressing a lot of concern to the investigators, including at least one of those miners who died. the reports included things that he said, that he basically was worried about dying, but there's also a culture in the coal fields among the many miners that they do their best and they know their jobs are dangerous. it's about feeding their families. and in a way, don blankenship thought that keeping the mines open and producing, it would keep the miners employed, it went with securing their jobs, but some were scared of him and losing their jobs. >> the culture of mine being, some of the miners recognizing the dangers, but did that change over the years a greater concerned about safety? >> yeah, definitely. and it seems to follow every time there's one of these big incidents, there are moves in

washington, 100 years ago, we toll lated these incidents, but now we don't tolerate it. so there have been rules by the obama administration, and movements on capitol hill to pass legislation, saying that the rules right now are enough, but we have to enforce them better. but definitely, there's increased attention to safety. and deaths are no longer acceptable. >> is that increased tension coming from the mining industry itself? >> well, the mining companies are, at least the major ones, they're definitely aware of the natural resources. the company that ended up to have a program called running right, they have stressed a lot that after they took over the mines, that they would reeducate the miners, and help

bring them into a new culture of safety. national mining association has also touted efforts to promote mine safety among its members. but there's still a back and forth between the administration and lawmakers who believe we need more rules and more safety requirements, and companies that really want the government to cooperate with them. >> we have to leave it there. manuel quinnion else, thank you. and still ahead, our special report. >> as the definition of journalism expands, they are arresting more is more people. >> rosewater and press freedom, that's after this break.

>> it was supposed to be funny. on the daily show. they arrested and tortured him for 180 days. telling that shocking story to

jon stewart from behind the desk. >> tonight, both men sit down with us to talk about their new film and the injustice they say is spreading. >> there has to be a method that we can get these political prisoners being held in these countries. get them released. there's no purpose in it. >> tonight, our special report. jon stewart, the war on journalists. >> good evening, i'm john seigenthaler. around the world, journalists are harassed and even killed for doing their jobs. tonight, a crackdown on freedom of the press, and a new movie that tells the freedom of a report imprisoned in iran. the film is called rosewater, written and directed by comedian, jon stewart. >> i believe that it was ex ed rin pm -- >> jon stewart is a pro.

but now a filmmaker, and his new feature is definitely not the last. it's called rosewater. did i buing friday, the movie is inspired by the harrowing story of mazra bahari, covering the country's elections. bahari windows in tehran, documenting, and while there was he was on the daily show. this is the clip that we showed on comedy central. >> we went for a clandestine meeting. >> shortly after, he was arrested by the police, the charge, spying. he was jailed and there he was

beaten and brutalized by an interrogator he called rosewater because of the scent of his clone. as seen bahari as played. >> bahari was forced to make a false confession on tv. he was released after four months in prison. bahari wrote a best-selling book about his experience, "then they came for me." from the back, then the movie, one that jon stewart directed. the war against the press. i met with jon stewart and maziar bahari and asked why they wanted to make this film. >> as the definition of

journalism expands, they're arresting more and more people, the united states has its way of putting pressure on journalists, and this is happening. i wanted to see if we could tell it in a way that did not limit it to just the ex entrissities of one regime in one part of the world. >> you're a journalist who covers other people's stories, you go to prison, you write a book, you have a movie, what's this been like for you? >> it has been a little bit strange, to put it mildly, because usually when they make films about nelson mandela. they're usually dead to start with, and then the good thing is that i'm not dead. but i'm not mandela. >> your father was imprisoned, your sister was imprisoned in iran, and didn't you worry about the fact that you might get into trouble? >> yes, you're worried, and you're thinking about it

sometimes, but it cannot stop you from doing your job. i was very cautious. if you ask anyone, i was very, and the people i worked with knew that i was very cautious, and i always respected the law, but i couldn't do anything when they had a scenario for me, when they had a plan. >> john, why did you decide to do this? >> well, i think that part of the reason, maziar's ability, as he spoke earlier, he was trained to distance himself, so his observations in the memoir that he wrote was so keen and so layered. and he spoke about his family. the idea of generations lost to these oppressive regimes, whether they be a lie or not. his father was taken by the shah, who was the antidote to the shah, and it was still practicing the traditions that had been passed down from generations, and many of the

revolutionaries had been tortured by the shah, and then they themselves became the oppressors to the next level. so there are so many different and universal aspects to the story. >> i just want to go back to your appearance on the daily show. >> i asked him the question. why was the country to terrified. >> they don't know the value of the other side, and how to talk to the other side. and i've written about that for the magazine several times. >> did you ever dream that that might be used against you? >> no, never. i had worked with many different broadcasters and had been on many shows and channels, and as i said, they wanted to implicate me because i worked with it in india.

and producer jones, when i met them, unbeknownst to all of us, i was being monitored. and when they imprisoned me and they charged me with spying, for cia, and in the absence of any evidence because i was not a spy, they brought forward ridiculous evidence. >> like being on the daily show. >> this guy says that he's a spy, he looks like a spy, smells like a spy, so he's a spy. >> you hear about this, and what goods through your head? >> well, we didn't hear about the part that they had shown him obviously interrogations.

we did know that maziar had been repeated, along with other people who participated. >> did you worry that you might have had an impact on him? >> not so much that we had an impact on getting him arrested. only because of the context of what was happening in iran at that time, there was a tremendous amount of violence and a tremendous amount of crackdown, so we assumed that the people who would generally talk to us, were more than likely part of the reformist movement and more than likely, they will receive the brunt of the government's ire. but when you do a segment and you're in the editorial process, and you're sitting in a meeting, you have to ask the will this get somebody killed? imprisoned? >> did you ever think about that? >> generally no. there are discussions sometimes, of that's not fair, or that person, i think you don't want to -- that person is -- that's a mistake, don't do that.

but obviously everything has repercussions, and the thing that you have to look at how do you live your life? i guess i have to do my job. how do you live your life to the level of those that would weaponnize something so stupid? >> so i watched you on his joe show and you talked about what happened to you, and the impression i get, i mean, you seem joyful, positive, energized, now that you're out. and it doesn't seem to be a lot of vindictiveness. >> there's no point inning vindictive, anger, and of course, when that happened to me, i was angry, but you have to turn your bad experiences into something more positive. >> you did that with the book? >> in the book, with the campaign that we had with the film, and again, many of my friends and colleagues, who are going to through the same thing. >> at the did it even with his interrogators. they are humans, and he never portrays them as monsters. >> they were not monsters. they were torturing people. people torturing me, insulting

me, and humiliating me, putting me in front of a camera for forced confessions, and those are bad things, but those are bad acts done by human beings. >> is rosewater still alive and still around? >> yes, i'm sure that he's going to watch this interview and read the book. >> we'll have more of the interview with jon stewart and maziar bahari in a hue minutes, but thank you for being with but the deputy for iran is in the studio tonight. and thank you for being here. what's the climate for journalists in iran right now?

>> well, it's one where there's a lot of threat and a lot of intimidation. i think that a lot of the media was very hopeful after president election last year, in the hopes that it would bring in a lot of reform and press freedom. we're not seeing that. just in july to august this year, we had several reformist journalists, who like to talk about social and cultural and progressive issues, many of them were arrested and denied. and we haven't seen a drop-in this. >> clearly, this has a killing effect on the journalists doing their jobs, but where is the line? how do you know where the line is in. >> in iran, there's something we call red line, and that's journalists engaging in what could be called self-censorship. knowing that if they engage in

anything in a way, it would have serious repercussions for them. politics, religion, all things that could land a journalist in very hot water. >> sometimes your government invites journalists in to talk to important people, but these days, how does the iranian government view foreign journalists? >> well, it's a complicated thing. you have the oppression of domestic media, but that includes jason t. an iranian american, and people who work for bbc persia or other persian media out let's. they're under increasing pressure, and the families are threatened and intimidated back in iran, and many returned journalists, who had been in self imposed exile and returned after the inauguration, were brought in for progression and detained. >> i listened last night speaking about this issue, and

specifically about censorship of the internet. we believe that the internet is going to save a lot of these countries, freedom of the press, ushering the new openness, but now there's a censorship that goes on in a lot of these countries, controlling the internet. what's the situation in iran? >> the situation in iran is stark 1, and many sites are filtered, and the iranian government has plans for a national internet. if they launch the national internet, which they have been laying down the foundation to do so, they would have ultimate control over people's personal information, and what websites they wish to access >> so they have their own internet. >> that's the plan, not yet but it's coming. >> and how difficult is it to do that? you say soon. >> a lot of countries have implemented it. china, and south korea even, but the key thing is not so much the implementation, but the fact of what they would be using that information for. if they have absolute control.

and it is to surveil their citizens, and that's a concern. >> absolute control. that's one of the things we're looking at. thank you for being on the program. thank you very much. still ahead, jon stewart and maziar bahari talk about silencing journalists. their film's message about freedom of the press. and a personal story of one of our own jailed in iran for 100 days. all of that is coming up.

>> five years, ocsanna was thrown into an iranian prison. she was working as a freelance journalist and writing a book,

and the iranian police accused her of being a spy. here's her story in her own words. >> in 2009, i was arrested and held in prison for 100 days. i didn't know much about my iranian identity. so i wanted to move to iran to learn about that part of my history. and report from the country, because i knew it would be an important country for years to come. >> but supporters of the government say they're not trying to reverse the achievements. >> i was mostly trying to write a book about iran beyond the headlines. so interviewing a lot of people that you don't usually hear about from the news. and i was working on that for about two years, when one morning, i was arrested. i was sleeping, and four men forced their way into my apartment. they were with iran's intelligence ministry, and they took me away. after going through my belongings, and they questioned me for several hours, and told me i was not cooperating, and took me to the most notorious

prison in iran. they said at first that i was threatening national security and accused me of being a spy. i did confess to being a spy, under a great deal of pressure, even though it was a false confession, because they promised they would free me, and i was too afraid of what would happen if i stayed. especially soon after, i recanted it, but i was sentenced to eight years in prison. i was put in solitary confinement for two weeks and that was the most difficult part for me, because we as human beings need to interact with other human beings, and we start to go up and say. i had begun to realize that people outside of prison in other countries, the united states and other countries as well, were calling for my freedom. and that greatly empowered me, because i realized that i wasn't alone anymore. >> she's an american citizen,

and i have complete confidence that she was not engaging in any sort of espionage. >> i think that all of this pressure added and up and helped push the iranian authorities to release me after 100 days. i felt happy that i was free, and felt very happy that my parents would not have to suffer anymore because of my imprisonment. but at the same time, i felt very sad for the women i was leaving behind, because they deserved freedom as much as i do. and two of them are still there today because of their religious beliefs. >> about a month after ocsanna's release, jon stewart's movie, "rosewater," is the story of his arrest and time in prison. here's more of my discussion with stewart and bahari. >> i was struck by the end of the film, that you ream wanted to make a statement about journalism around the world. can you talk about what that is?

>> i think it was more -- if i was to say the statement of the unsustainability of the apparatuses that these regimes built, and all of the regimes built. the united states, we're moving to this strange deep state of security apparatus in nsa and other places. to keep information that they don't want getting out getting out are more damaging to the state than any piece of information that could arise, and it's about the sustainability. think of how hard, how much money, how much time, how much effort, how much human capital is exposed in trying to keep someone like maziar from just filming something. he didn't do anything, he filmed something. >> reporter: give us your reaction to what's going with journalists around the world, especially our friends anywhere >> we have a friend who does a satirical show similar to mine in egypt, who was arrested and

who was harassed and was driven off the air, and he can no longer do the show there. this is the government that came in and said, we're going to listen to the will of the people. and yet they won't allow the people to speak up. they have arrested three of your colleagues, and the trial is to talk about absurdity. the evidence they present is footage of arabian footage and bits and pieces of found footage, and it has no bearing on anything. there's no accountability for what's going to happen to them. they have families who are powerless to get them out. this is an ally of the united states, we give them $1.5 billion a year in aid. and there has to be a method where we can get these political prisoners that are being held in these countries, get them some visibility and hopefully enough pressure on these regimes to get them

released. there's no purpose in it, these people have done nothing. >> what did you think of the film when you first saw it? >> i was involved in writing the script. and i was on the set. and i saw the rough cut. and i think going back to your question, the film is about the democratization of information. and i think that's what scares these regimes. governments like iran, these regimes, they are regimes that can arrest people. and they can shut down newspapers, blue when it comes to the internet, they resort to the 20th century method. like egypt, we cannot work the dvd player and show you the evidence that we have for the trial. and as a result, they look ridiculous, and that's where the humor in the film comes from. >> it's a powerful film. congratulations.

>> thank you. >> "rosewater" opens in theaters today. we're back after this.

>> there are conflicting reports a washington post

reporter. an american/iranian report reporter, was arrested in july, and he has not made an appearance in court. the iranians have accused him of breaching the security of the state. they said that he could be released in a month. but a different official said that he won't be released until an investigation is complete. >> jason's brother, ali, joins us now from san francisco, and ali, welcome, and it's good to have you on the program. >> thanks john, thanks for having me. >> so do you understand why your brother is being held? >> they have never really told us why. there have been no specific allegations against him. so it's kind of a mystery as to what they think he has done. >> as far as you know, he has not been charged? >> that's correct. my understanding is that in iran if he had been charged, he would have access to a lawyer and other activities have been going on. to this date, he has not had access it a lawyer, and it has not gone into court. and there are no charges

pending right now, as far as we know. >> where are you getting your information? have you been in contact with him? >> i have not spoken to my brother since the last week in july, before he was taken or it detained. we have several different sources that we believe are credible getting us information that's good information. >> so tell us about the conditions in which he's being held. >> so what we have been told, jason has been in solitary confinement since he was taken on july 22nd of this year. he has been interrogated, you know, between 6 and 8 hours a day or more, five days a week typically, and we don't really know what they're asking him about, but we do know that the conditions aren't ideal. and it's causing him to have a number of health issues that he didn't have before. and we're starting to get concerned about. >> do you suspect -- some have suggested that he's a pawn in

the power struggle between the united states and iran regarding their nuclear program. do you suspect that might be the case? >> you know, i don't really know. what i will say is that jason doesn't have anything to do with the u.s. government. he hasn't had any ties with the iranian government. and it's very cruel if that's the case. he's just a guy doing his job, a journalist like yourself, and he was trying to get a really positive message about iran out to the world. and if that's the case, it's just very difficult to believe that that would be a good way of going about their diplomacy. >> tell me what this has been like for your family. >> it's really very difficult, obviously. my mom is living overseas, so we talk a lot. she has a great support structure, but it has become a new job. so it's constantly, 24 hours a day, things going on, and what not, and we have been working with really good people that

all want to help us out and help jason out and get him here, but it takes a toll. >> can you tell us a little bit about your brother? >> sure, jason is a wonderful guy. he's the kind of guy that makes friends really easily wherever he goes. he has been fortunate to travel around the world and make friends, and wherever he goes, he was telling people that he lived in iran, and they ask, why do you live there? and he would say, you should see it, it's a great place, and he loves the iranian culture and what it's like to live over there, and it's really a very modern and complicated place. >> ali, what about the risks? did he talk about the risks of his job, and specifically about being in iran? >> you know, i think he talked about what -- how to mitigate the risks. so i think jason talked a lot about the rules were, and he wanted to make sure that he followed the rules.

there's a set of rules that journalists in iran, credentialed journalists need to follow. and he was meticulous about doing that, and he wanted to make sure that he stuck to where he was supposed to be, going to those kinds of places and not cause any trouble that would start to trigger problems for him. >> well, ali, we sincerely hope he comes home soon, and we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us about your brother. good luck. >> thank you so much, john. >> now to our colleagues in egypt, they're a big part of the war on journalism. amal continues to demand the release of the three journalists held in prison. peter, mohammed and bar, they have spent 318 days in jail. they have are not convicted of helping the muslim brotherhood, and aljazeera has denied those charges. three journalists are scheduled to appear in court january 1st to appeal their

conviction. that's our report, thank you for watching, i'm john seigenthaler. >> an american tonight investigative report >> i want the schools to want me >> no matter what... i'm still equal... >> what if you had a brilliant mind? >> i want to get into a competitive school... >> but life has been a struggle... >> black and latino kids... they feel shut out of these schools and shut out of the opportunities that they offer >> and you only have a solitary chance to turn your world around >> the way to get entrance is through taking one single exam... >> testing under fire an america tonight investigative report only on al jazeera america

>> if we don't have a verdict by one o'clock it's gonna be another day. >> well it's either gonna be before noon, or they get to come back at one thirty. >> the waiting is what will knock you for a loop. if she goes to jail again i think she'll come out in a body bag. >> are they out? we are sitting right there in my