Mehr News
TEHRAN, May 11 (MNA) – The Judiciary spokesman confirmed on Monday that Iranian-U.S. national Roxana Saberi has been released from jail.
“The appeals court overturned the verdict on Roxana Saberi,” Alireza Jamshidi told the Mehr News Agency.
Saberi, 32, was sentenced to an eight-year prison term last month on espionage charges.
The appeals court reduced her jail term on Monday to a two-year suspended sentence.
PA/PA
END
MNA
Showing posts with label roxana saberi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roxana saberi. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2009
Iran: Many Try to Run for President in Iran, but Few Will Be Allowed
By NAZILA FATHI
Published: May 10, 2009
TEHRAN — With Iran’s presidential elections a month away, the Interior Ministry said Sunday that a total of 475 people had registered as candidates, including 40 women, and that the registrants ranged in age from 19 to 86. But an oversight panel of conservative mullahs and jurists is almost certain to disqualify most of them, leaving only a handful.
The total number of candidates, announced at the end of a five-day registration period, was less than half the 1,014 who had registered for the last presidential elections, in June 2005. Of that total, the oversight panel, known as the Guardian Council, disqualified all but six.
The Guardian Council, which screens all candidates for their religious and political qualifications and is known for its conservative Islamist views, is expected to announce the winnowed list of candidates for the June 12 elections on May 22.
There is a widespread expectation that the council will disqualify most or all challengers who favor more political and social openness. But the council’s choices will still be scrutinized because the incumbent candidate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a religious conservative widely blamed for Iran’s increased economic isolation, has lost many influential allies.
The most likely challengers are the three who had already declared their intention to face Mr. Ahmadinejad before the registration period. They are Mir Hussein Moussavi, a moderate politician and former prime minister; Mehdi Karroubi, another moderate politician and former speaker of Parliament; and Mohsen Rezai, a former head of the Revolutionary Guards.
The focus of the campaign so far has been Iran’s economy, but the target of the challengers is Mr. Ahmadinejad, whom they have sharply criticized.
The most unusual criticism came last week from Mr. Rezai, who, like Mr. Ahmadinejad, had opposed more political and social openness in the past. He said in a news conference that if Mr. Ahmadinejad was re-elected, “he would drag the country over a cliff.” He called the president’s foreign policy “provocative” and “adventurous” and blamed him later in the week for $1 billion in missing oil revenue.
Mr. Karroubi has criticized Mr. Ahmadinejad’s comments on the issue of the Holocaust. Mr. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, but because of the country’s animosity toward Israel, the subject was dealt with quietly until Mr. Karroubi brought it out in the open. He said that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s statements had harmed the country and undermined the country’s position on the global stage.
Mr. Moussavi, who could be Mr. Ahmadinejad’s most serious rival, has lashed out at the Guidance Patrol, the police force that was set up under Mr. Ahmadinejad, and was responsible for harassing women deemed to be violating Islamic dress codes.
Politicians and activists are also taking advantage of a more tolerant atmosphere before the elections. Women’s groups have formed a coalition and announced at a news conference last month that they wanted discriminatory laws against women to be amended — a demand that has been confronted harshly by the authorities. Many female activists have been jailed in the past year.
Mr. Ahmadinejad once had the backing of influential clerics, but they have refrained from supporting him publicly in his re-election campaign, casting some doubt on his prospects for a second term.
The supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once his most prominent supporter, scolded him in a public letter last week after Mr. Ahmadinejad announced he was making a close ally the head of the state bureau for pilgrimages to Mecca.
Mr. Ahmadinejad may still be re-elected. He has traveled everywhere around the country as president, giving money and promising to help. Many voters point to his generosity and willingness to ease government bureaucracy.
“I will vote for him because he wrote a letter and exempted us from paying a fine for illegal construction when he was mayor,” said Nader Abolqasemi, a 33-year old civil servant, referring to the time when Mr. Ahmadinejad was the mayor of Tehran before he was elected president.
His supporters portray him as a Spartan and pious man who wants to serve his country. In a book about his life titled “The Son of People,” he still cultivates the small garden at his home and his newly married daughter lives in a small rental apartment.
The candidate registration announcement coincided with news that an imprisoned Iranian-American journalist in Iran, Roxana Saberi, had appealed her conviction for espionage. News services reported that her lawyer was optimistic that the eight-year sentence would be reduced.
The lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, talked to reporters after his client’s five-hour, closed-door appeals hearing. He said that he had been allowed to defend Ms. Saberi and that he expected the court to rule in the coming days.
The case has caused tensions between the United States and Iran at a time when President Obama has said he wants to engage the Iranian government after a 30-year estrangement. Washington has called the spying conviction baseless.
Iran had promised a review of the case on appeal and insisted that Ms. Saberi would be allowed to provide a full defense. Officials have suggested that her prison term could be reduced or the conviction overturned. Ms. Saberi, who grew up in Fargo, N.D., was convicted last month after a closed-door hearing.
Published: May 10, 2009
TEHRAN — With Iran’s presidential elections a month away, the Interior Ministry said Sunday that a total of 475 people had registered as candidates, including 40 women, and that the registrants ranged in age from 19 to 86. But an oversight panel of conservative mullahs and jurists is almost certain to disqualify most of them, leaving only a handful.
The total number of candidates, announced at the end of a five-day registration period, was less than half the 1,014 who had registered for the last presidential elections, in June 2005. Of that total, the oversight panel, known as the Guardian Council, disqualified all but six.
The Guardian Council, which screens all candidates for their religious and political qualifications and is known for its conservative Islamist views, is expected to announce the winnowed list of candidates for the June 12 elections on May 22.
There is a widespread expectation that the council will disqualify most or all challengers who favor more political and social openness. But the council’s choices will still be scrutinized because the incumbent candidate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a religious conservative widely blamed for Iran’s increased economic isolation, has lost many influential allies.
The most likely challengers are the three who had already declared their intention to face Mr. Ahmadinejad before the registration period. They are Mir Hussein Moussavi, a moderate politician and former prime minister; Mehdi Karroubi, another moderate politician and former speaker of Parliament; and Mohsen Rezai, a former head of the Revolutionary Guards.
The focus of the campaign so far has been Iran’s economy, but the target of the challengers is Mr. Ahmadinejad, whom they have sharply criticized.
The most unusual criticism came last week from Mr. Rezai, who, like Mr. Ahmadinejad, had opposed more political and social openness in the past. He said in a news conference that if Mr. Ahmadinejad was re-elected, “he would drag the country over a cliff.” He called the president’s foreign policy “provocative” and “adventurous” and blamed him later in the week for $1 billion in missing oil revenue.
Mr. Karroubi has criticized Mr. Ahmadinejad’s comments on the issue of the Holocaust. Mr. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, but because of the country’s animosity toward Israel, the subject was dealt with quietly until Mr. Karroubi brought it out in the open. He said that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s statements had harmed the country and undermined the country’s position on the global stage.
Mr. Moussavi, who could be Mr. Ahmadinejad’s most serious rival, has lashed out at the Guidance Patrol, the police force that was set up under Mr. Ahmadinejad, and was responsible for harassing women deemed to be violating Islamic dress codes.
Politicians and activists are also taking advantage of a more tolerant atmosphere before the elections. Women’s groups have formed a coalition and announced at a news conference last month that they wanted discriminatory laws against women to be amended — a demand that has been confronted harshly by the authorities. Many female activists have been jailed in the past year.
Mr. Ahmadinejad once had the backing of influential clerics, but they have refrained from supporting him publicly in his re-election campaign, casting some doubt on his prospects for a second term.
The supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once his most prominent supporter, scolded him in a public letter last week after Mr. Ahmadinejad announced he was making a close ally the head of the state bureau for pilgrimages to Mecca.
Mr. Ahmadinejad may still be re-elected. He has traveled everywhere around the country as president, giving money and promising to help. Many voters point to his generosity and willingness to ease government bureaucracy.
“I will vote for him because he wrote a letter and exempted us from paying a fine for illegal construction when he was mayor,” said Nader Abolqasemi, a 33-year old civil servant, referring to the time when Mr. Ahmadinejad was the mayor of Tehran before he was elected president.
His supporters portray him as a Spartan and pious man who wants to serve his country. In a book about his life titled “The Son of People,” he still cultivates the small garden at his home and his newly married daughter lives in a small rental apartment.
The candidate registration announcement coincided with news that an imprisoned Iranian-American journalist in Iran, Roxana Saberi, had appealed her conviction for espionage. News services reported that her lawyer was optimistic that the eight-year sentence would be reduced.
The lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, talked to reporters after his client’s five-hour, closed-door appeals hearing. He said that he had been allowed to defend Ms. Saberi and that he expected the court to rule in the coming days.
The case has caused tensions between the United States and Iran at a time when President Obama has said he wants to engage the Iranian government after a 30-year estrangement. Washington has called the spying conviction baseless.
Iran had promised a review of the case on appeal and insisted that Ms. Saberi would be allowed to provide a full defense. Officials have suggested that her prison term could be reduced or the conviction overturned. Ms. Saberi, who grew up in Fargo, N.D., was convicted last month after a closed-door hearing.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Iran: Iranian Nobel laureate to defend U.S. journalist
(CNN) -- An Iranian human-rights activist and Nobel laureate has joined the legal team of an Iranian-American journalist convicted of spying and jailed in Iran.
Shirin Ebadi, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, took up the case of Roxana Saberi at the request of Saberi's family, her father, Reza Saberi, told CNN Wednesday. Ebadi heads the Center for Defenders of Human Rights in Iran.
Saberi, 31, was sentenced Saturday to eight years in prison after a one-day trial that was closed to the public. President Obama, as well as other U.S. and international officials sharply denounced the decision.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson has offered to travel to Iran to help seek Saberi's release.
"If our voices are heard in Iran today, I would be anxious to travel with a delegation to Iran, if we are permitted, and make an appeal for her freedom," said the longtime civil rights activist, according to his Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Jackson, 67, spoke Tuesday at a peace conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"Whenever we've brought people out of captivity, whether in Syria, Cuba, Iraq or Yugoslavia, or Liberia, it's always opened a diplomatic door to reduce tensions," he said.
Saberi's attorneys said they will appeal her conviction. Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi ordered the head of Tehran's Justice Department to make sure the appeals process is quick and fair.
Jackson has offered in the past to help release American hostages, most recently in 2005. At that time, he said he was willing to use his role as a religious leader to help secure the release of Roy Hallums, who was kidnapped along with five others in Baghdad in November 2004.
Hallums was freed in September 2005 when U.S. troops raided the farmhouse where he being held outside Baghdad.
In 1984, Jackson secured the release of a Navy pilot held in Syria. In 1991, he helped secure the release of 500 "international guests" held in Iraq. And in 1999, he persuaded Yugoslavia to release three U.S. soldiers held there during the Kosovo conflict.
Obama has called for Saberi's release, saying he is "gravely concerned with her safety and well-being." Watch how U.S.-Iranian relations are complicated »
"We are working to make sure that she is properly treated, and to get more information about the disposition of her case," Obama said Sunday.
"She is an American citizen, and I have complete confidence that she was not engaging in any sort of espionage."
Iranian officials initially said Saberi was held for buying a bottle of wine. The Foreign Ministry later said she was detained for reporting without proper credentials.
Saberi, who comes from North Dakota, has been living in Iran since 2003, said the Committee to Protect Journalists, a journalists' advocacy group.
She has freelanced for National Public Radio and other news organizations, and was writing a book about Iranian culture.
Iranian authorities revoked her press credentials in 2006, but Saberi continued to file short news items without permission, the journalists' group said.
Saberi was detained in January, although no formal charges were disclosed. On April 9, word emerged that Saberi had been charged with espionage.
"Without press credentials and under the name of being a reporter, she was carrying out espionage activities," Hassan Haddad, a deputy public prosecutor, told the Iranian Students News Agency.
Authorities also said Saberi had confessed. Her father said he thinks she was coerced into making damaging statements.
Shirin Ebadi, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, took up the case of Roxana Saberi at the request of Saberi's family, her father, Reza Saberi, told CNN Wednesday. Ebadi heads the Center for Defenders of Human Rights in Iran.
Saberi, 31, was sentenced Saturday to eight years in prison after a one-day trial that was closed to the public. President Obama, as well as other U.S. and international officials sharply denounced the decision.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson has offered to travel to Iran to help seek Saberi's release.
"If our voices are heard in Iran today, I would be anxious to travel with a delegation to Iran, if we are permitted, and make an appeal for her freedom," said the longtime civil rights activist, according to his Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Jackson, 67, spoke Tuesday at a peace conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"Whenever we've brought people out of captivity, whether in Syria, Cuba, Iraq or Yugoslavia, or Liberia, it's always opened a diplomatic door to reduce tensions," he said.
Saberi's attorneys said they will appeal her conviction. Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi ordered the head of Tehran's Justice Department to make sure the appeals process is quick and fair.
Jackson has offered in the past to help release American hostages, most recently in 2005. At that time, he said he was willing to use his role as a religious leader to help secure the release of Roy Hallums, who was kidnapped along with five others in Baghdad in November 2004.
Hallums was freed in September 2005 when U.S. troops raided the farmhouse where he being held outside Baghdad.
In 1984, Jackson secured the release of a Navy pilot held in Syria. In 1991, he helped secure the release of 500 "international guests" held in Iraq. And in 1999, he persuaded Yugoslavia to release three U.S. soldiers held there during the Kosovo conflict.
Obama has called for Saberi's release, saying he is "gravely concerned with her safety and well-being." Watch how U.S.-Iranian relations are complicated »
"We are working to make sure that she is properly treated, and to get more information about the disposition of her case," Obama said Sunday.
"She is an American citizen, and I have complete confidence that she was not engaging in any sort of espionage."
Iranian officials initially said Saberi was held for buying a bottle of wine. The Foreign Ministry later said she was detained for reporting without proper credentials.
Saberi, who comes from North Dakota, has been living in Iran since 2003, said the Committee to Protect Journalists, a journalists' advocacy group.
She has freelanced for National Public Radio and other news organizations, and was writing a book about Iranian culture.
Iranian authorities revoked her press credentials in 2006, but Saberi continued to file short news items without permission, the journalists' group said.
Saberi was detained in January, although no formal charges were disclosed. On April 9, word emerged that Saberi had been charged with espionage.
"Without press credentials and under the name of being a reporter, she was carrying out espionage activities," Hassan Haddad, a deputy public prosecutor, told the Iranian Students News Agency.
Authorities also said Saberi had confessed. Her father said he thinks she was coerced into making damaging statements.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Iran: Iran orders 'fair' US spy appeal
BBC News
Iran's judiciary chief has ordered a "quick and fair" appeal for US-Iranian reporter Roxana Saberi, jailed last week for eight years for spying.
Ayatollah Shahrudi said different aspects of the case "should be fairly, accurately and quickly considered".
His order came after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the journalist must have the legal right to defend herself.
US President Barack Obama has expressed concern at the sentencing, handed down after a one-day trial in Tehran.
Ms Saberi, 31, denies any involvement in espionage, and Mr Obama also said she was not a spy and called for her release.
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Tehran, says it is not clear whether the ayatollah's statement means Ms Saberi will receive clemency, or that the Iranian authorities are merely stressing they are dealing fairly with her case.
Parents' visit
Ms Saberi's parents have visited their daughter in jail for the first time since the sentence was announced.
Her father, Reza Saberi - who says his daughter was tricked into making a confession - said she "seems to be OK".
"We talked about different things," he told AP news agency. "We delivered some books - that was a good news because she likes reading books.
"She said that she is with two other persons, two other ladies over there in the prison and she was looking forward for the appeal because she knew that this kind of verdict was too heavy for her."
Ms Saberi's mother, Akiko, said her daughter could not be a spy.
"No way. She cannot be a spy. Once you know her, she is the last person to do that. She would never do that to anyone."
'Respect court rulings'
Asked about Mr Obama's comments, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told a news conference: "It is an international norm that one should respect the rulings issued by the court.
"I recommend that as long as you have not studied the contents of the case one should not just express his views... I'm sure some American officials have also studied law."
Mr Qashqavi went on to say the Iranian authorities respected the defendant's right of appeal.
In his statement, Ayatollah Shahrudi reiterated Mr Qashqavi's point, saying he "emphasised the necessity of access to fair consideration of Roxana Saberi's case, especially at the appeals stage, which is the certain right of the accused".
The journalist originally faced the less serious accusation of buying alcohol, and later of working as a reporter without a valid press card.
Then, in a period of less than two weeks, the charge of spying was introduced, and she was tried and sentenced behind closed doors by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.
Few details of the trial or the specifics of the charges have been released.
Ms Saberi, who holds dual US and Iranian citizenship, has spent six years in Iran studying and writing a book.
She has been in jail in Tehran since January.
Iran's judiciary chief has ordered a "quick and fair" appeal for US-Iranian reporter Roxana Saberi, jailed last week for eight years for spying.
Ayatollah Shahrudi said different aspects of the case "should be fairly, accurately and quickly considered".
His order came after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the journalist must have the legal right to defend herself.
US President Barack Obama has expressed concern at the sentencing, handed down after a one-day trial in Tehran.
Ms Saberi, 31, denies any involvement in espionage, and Mr Obama also said she was not a spy and called for her release.
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Tehran, says it is not clear whether the ayatollah's statement means Ms Saberi will receive clemency, or that the Iranian authorities are merely stressing they are dealing fairly with her case.
Parents' visit
Ms Saberi's parents have visited their daughter in jail for the first time since the sentence was announced.
Her father, Reza Saberi - who says his daughter was tricked into making a confession - said she "seems to be OK".
"We talked about different things," he told AP news agency. "We delivered some books - that was a good news because she likes reading books.
"She said that she is with two other persons, two other ladies over there in the prison and she was looking forward for the appeal because she knew that this kind of verdict was too heavy for her."
Ms Saberi's mother, Akiko, said her daughter could not be a spy.
"No way. She cannot be a spy. Once you know her, she is the last person to do that. She would never do that to anyone."
'Respect court rulings'
Asked about Mr Obama's comments, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told a news conference: "It is an international norm that one should respect the rulings issued by the court.
"I recommend that as long as you have not studied the contents of the case one should not just express his views... I'm sure some American officials have also studied law."
Mr Qashqavi went on to say the Iranian authorities respected the defendant's right of appeal.
In his statement, Ayatollah Shahrudi reiterated Mr Qashqavi's point, saying he "emphasised the necessity of access to fair consideration of Roxana Saberi's case, especially at the appeals stage, which is the certain right of the accused".
The journalist originally faced the less serious accusation of buying alcohol, and later of working as a reporter without a valid press card.
Then, in a period of less than two weeks, the charge of spying was introduced, and she was tried and sentenced behind closed doors by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.
Few details of the trial or the specifics of the charges have been released.
Ms Saberi, who holds dual US and Iranian citizenship, has spent six years in Iran studying and writing a book.
She has been in jail in Tehran since January.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Iran: Iran Holds Closed Trial For American Journalist
Verdict Expected in One to Two Weeks
SLIDESHOW Previous Next
Reza Saberi, left, the father of American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi who has been in jail for more than two months in Iran, listens to lawyer of Roxana, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, in his office in Tehran on Thursday April 9, 2009. American female journalist Roxana Saberi has been charged with spying, her lawyer said Wednesday, dashing hopes of a quick release, just days after her parents arrived in the country to press for her freedom. Roxana Saberi asserts her innocence of the charges. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian) (Hasan Sarbakhshian - AP)
In this undated photo released by the The Miss North Dakota Pageant, Roxana Saberi is shown, in North Dakota. Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation on Wednesday, charging her with spying for the United States. (AP Photo/The Miss North Dakota Pageant) (AP)
This undated photo provided Tuesday, March 3, 2009 by the National Press Photographers Association shows U.S. journalist Roxana Saberi. Saberi, who has been jailed for more than two months in Iran, has been charged with espionage, her lawyer said Wednesday, April 9, 2009, dashing hopes of a quick release days after her parents arrived in the country seeking her freedom. (AP Photo/NPPA) (AP)
In this undated photo released by Marilyn McGinley, Roxana Saberi is shown, in North Dakota. Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation on Wednesday, charging her with spying for the United States. (AP Photo/Marilyn McGinley) (AP)
Reza Saberi, the father of American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi who has been in jail for more than two months in Iran, photographed in Tehran on Thursday April 9, 2009. American female journalist Roxana Saberi has been charged with spying, her lawyer said Wednesday, dashing hopes of a quick release, just days after her parents arrived in the country to press for her freedom. Roxana Saberi asserts her innocence of the charges. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian) (Hasan Sarbakhshian - AP)
Roxana Saberi, a U.S.-Iranian citizen, has been charged with spying. (AP)
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Who's Blogging» Links to this article
By Thomas Erdbrink
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, April 15, 2009; Page A08
An Iranian American journalist accused by Iran of spying for the United States has been tried behind closed doors, Iran's judiciary said yesterday, and a verdict is expected in one to two weeks.
Roxana Saberi "has been charged with spying for foreigners. The first session of the court was held yesterday, and her last defense was heard," judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi told journalists, the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency reported.
"Her spying was for the United States, and I think the verdict will be passed within a couple of weeks," Jamshidi added, saying that it was up to the judge to decide whether future hearings would be open to the public.
The Obama administration says the charges against Saberi, 31, are baseless and has demanded her immediate release.
Saberi holds U.S. and Iranian citizenship, but Iranian law does not recognize her U.S. nationality. Jamshidi dismissed the U.S. call to free Saberi, saying that "giving an opinion on a case, by an individual or a government, without being informed about the facts in it, is utterly ridiculous."
Before Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance revoked Saberi's press credentials in 2006, without specifying the reason, she had worked in the country on a freelance basis for the BBC, U.S.-based National Public Radio and other news organizations.
She remained in Iran and, according to her parents, is writing a book.
Saberi was arrested in late January for allegedly buying alcohol, which is illegal in Iran. Last week, however, an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation against her: spying for the United States.
"This accused has been coming and going to certain government circles under the cover of reporter and without a permit," Judge Sohrab Heydarifard told state television last Wednesday. "She has perpetrated actions to compile and gather information and documents and transferred them to American intelligence services."
Spying is a serious charge in Iran, where political leaders regularly accuse the United States and Britain of espionage and support for organizations known to have committed terrorist acts against Iranian civilians. The heaviest punishment for espionage is death. In a recent high-profile case, a well-connected former Iranian official working as a businessman selling telecommunications equipment was convicted of spying on the military for Israel and hanged in 2008.
Saberi's parents, Reza and Akiko Saberi, met with their daughter in prison yesterday, news agencies reported. They had traveled to Tehran from their home in Fargo, N.D., to follow the case.
"We met Roxana today for a few minutes, and she is doing well," Reza Saberi told Agence France-Presse. "We are waiting for the judge to make a decision. [The verdict] should come out in a week. There is always hope. But we don't know what will happen."
SLIDESHOW Previous Next
Reza Saberi, left, the father of American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi who has been in jail for more than two months in Iran, listens to lawyer of Roxana, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, in his office in Tehran on Thursday April 9, 2009. American female journalist Roxana Saberi has been charged with spying, her lawyer said Wednesday, dashing hopes of a quick release, just days after her parents arrived in the country to press for her freedom. Roxana Saberi asserts her innocence of the charges. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian) (Hasan Sarbakhshian - AP)
In this undated photo released by the The Miss North Dakota Pageant, Roxana Saberi is shown, in North Dakota. Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation on Wednesday, charging her with spying for the United States. (AP Photo/The Miss North Dakota Pageant) (AP)
This undated photo provided Tuesday, March 3, 2009 by the National Press Photographers Association shows U.S. journalist Roxana Saberi. Saberi, who has been jailed for more than two months in Iran, has been charged with espionage, her lawyer said Wednesday, April 9, 2009, dashing hopes of a quick release days after her parents arrived in the country seeking her freedom. (AP Photo/NPPA) (AP)
In this undated photo released by Marilyn McGinley, Roxana Saberi is shown, in North Dakota. Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation on Wednesday, charging her with spying for the United States. (AP Photo/Marilyn McGinley) (AP)
Reza Saberi, the father of American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi who has been in jail for more than two months in Iran, photographed in Tehran on Thursday April 9, 2009. American female journalist Roxana Saberi has been charged with spying, her lawyer said Wednesday, dashing hopes of a quick release, just days after her parents arrived in the country to press for her freedom. Roxana Saberi asserts her innocence of the charges. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian) (Hasan Sarbakhshian - AP)
Roxana Saberi, a U.S.-Iranian citizen, has been charged with spying. (AP)
TOOLBOX
Resize Print E-mail Yahoo! BuzzSave/Share + Share this Article:
COMMENT
Comments
COMMENTS ARE CLOSED
Your browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the problem.
Discussion Policy CLOSEComments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging» Links to this article
By Thomas Erdbrink
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, April 15, 2009; Page A08
An Iranian American journalist accused by Iran of spying for the United States has been tried behind closed doors, Iran's judiciary said yesterday, and a verdict is expected in one to two weeks.
Roxana Saberi "has been charged with spying for foreigners. The first session of the court was held yesterday, and her last defense was heard," judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi told journalists, the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency reported.
"Her spying was for the United States, and I think the verdict will be passed within a couple of weeks," Jamshidi added, saying that it was up to the judge to decide whether future hearings would be open to the public.
The Obama administration says the charges against Saberi, 31, are baseless and has demanded her immediate release.
Saberi holds U.S. and Iranian citizenship, but Iranian law does not recognize her U.S. nationality. Jamshidi dismissed the U.S. call to free Saberi, saying that "giving an opinion on a case, by an individual or a government, without being informed about the facts in it, is utterly ridiculous."
Before Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance revoked Saberi's press credentials in 2006, without specifying the reason, she had worked in the country on a freelance basis for the BBC, U.S.-based National Public Radio and other news organizations.
She remained in Iran and, according to her parents, is writing a book.
Saberi was arrested in late January for allegedly buying alcohol, which is illegal in Iran. Last week, however, an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation against her: spying for the United States.
"This accused has been coming and going to certain government circles under the cover of reporter and without a permit," Judge Sohrab Heydarifard told state television last Wednesday. "She has perpetrated actions to compile and gather information and documents and transferred them to American intelligence services."
Spying is a serious charge in Iran, where political leaders regularly accuse the United States and Britain of espionage and support for organizations known to have committed terrorist acts against Iranian civilians. The heaviest punishment for espionage is death. In a recent high-profile case, a well-connected former Iranian official working as a businessman selling telecommunications equipment was convicted of spying on the military for Israel and hanged in 2008.
Saberi's parents, Reza and Akiko Saberi, met with their daughter in prison yesterday, news agencies reported. They had traveled to Tehran from their home in Fargo, N.D., to follow the case.
"We met Roxana today for a few minutes, and she is doing well," Reza Saberi told Agence France-Presse. "We are waiting for the judge to make a decision. [The verdict] should come out in a week. There is always hope. But we don't know what will happen."
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Iran: Saberi case exposes Iran’s rights failings
By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
Published: April 6 2009 16:17 | Last updated: April 6 2009 16:17
Roxana Saberi, a US-Iranian, who has been held in in the notorious Evin prison for over two months, apparently on espionage charges, was visited on Monday by her parents for the first time since her arrest.
Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, her lawyer, said the couple, who arrived in Tehran at the weekend from Fargo, North Dakota, found their daughter to be “physically and psychologically in a good condition”.
The lawyer confirmed that he had now received the official indictment against her but refused to comment on the allegations. Earlier he told the FT that Ms Saberi had been told by her prosecutor that she was to be charged with espionage. He said he hoped his client would be released on bail soon.
Ms Saberi had threatened recently to go on hunger strike if she was not released, according to her lawyer. “She rules out the charges and is impatient to be freed,” he told the FT.
Ms Saberi was arrested by the Revolutionary Court, which deals with national security charges, although it is not clear whether her arrest was related to her journalism or the book she was writing. Ms Saberi has worked for the BBC, National Public Radio and Fox News for six years in defiance of a ban by the Iranian authorities on her journalistic activities since 2006.
Iran has a poor human rights record in social and political spheres including imprisonment and suppression of reform-minded political activists, students and journalists.
Tens of students from Amir-Kabir University were arrested earlier this year when they objected to a government decision to bury martyrs from Iran-Iraq war on their campus. Eight of them remain in jail.
Although imposition of the death sentence is rare against critics of the regime, from time to time there are suspicious deaths in jail.
A blogger, Omid-Reza Mirsayafi, who was charged with insulting Iran’s top leaders on his blog, died in Evin prison last month after spending 40 days there as part of a 30-month jail sentence. The authorities told the victim’s lawyer that he had committed suicide.
Iran also has one of the highest execution rates in the world for social crimes such as adultery.
Amnesty International says Iran is second only to China for the number of executions it carries out each year, and has the worst record on executing minors, ahead of Saudi Arabia. Last year eight minors were hanged in Iran and Human Rights Watch says there are at least 130 people under the age of 18 on death row.
“Most of these minors are normal teenagers who committed crimes over such issues as fighting over girls at a sensitive age,” says Mohammad Mostafaei, a lawyer representing 30 young defendants.
The victory of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s fundamentalist president, in 2005 led many of Iran’s human rights groups to freeze their efforts and assume a low profile out of disillusionment and the fear of persecution.
“Things have not become necessarily worse than before but the problem is that human rights are not a priority for this government,” says one activist.
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi, who heads Iran’s judiciary, is respected by many lawyers as an open-minded cleric and is viewed as one of the most sympathetic advocates of human rights within the regime.
He has intervened in some cases to limit the prison sentences of activists, stop the hanging of minors and the penalty of stoning to death. He has not always been successful, partly because he represents a minority among the senior clergy most of whom are radical and Sharia-obsessed.
The judiciary has now presented a new penal code with the goal of making it human rights-friendly. It is being studied by parliament and is expected to be approved by the summer.
However, some lawyers are already disappointed. “The new bill will not resolve Iran’s problem internationally even though it takes positive – but insufficient – steps,” Babak Farrahi, a lawyer, says.
Some improvements include reducing prison terms and going some way towards abolishing the penalty of stoning to death, by inserting a clause that it should not be practised if it undermines Islam in the eyes of the international community.
But execution remains the dominant penalty for murder committed by adults or minors, homosexuality, drugs smuggling, armed action against the Islamic regime and any major moves to disrupt the country’s political, economic and social order.
Lawyers are also dismayed by the addition of amendments that define apostasy for the first time as a crime carrying the death penalty and impose the punishment of blinding for anyone found guilty of complicity in a murder.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: April 6 2009 16:17 | Last updated: April 6 2009 16:17
Roxana Saberi, a US-Iranian, who has been held in in the notorious Evin prison for over two months, apparently on espionage charges, was visited on Monday by her parents for the first time since her arrest.
Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, her lawyer, said the couple, who arrived in Tehran at the weekend from Fargo, North Dakota, found their daughter to be “physically and psychologically in a good condition”.
The lawyer confirmed that he had now received the official indictment against her but refused to comment on the allegations. Earlier he told the FT that Ms Saberi had been told by her prosecutor that she was to be charged with espionage. He said he hoped his client would be released on bail soon.
Ms Saberi had threatened recently to go on hunger strike if she was not released, according to her lawyer. “She rules out the charges and is impatient to be freed,” he told the FT.
Ms Saberi was arrested by the Revolutionary Court, which deals with national security charges, although it is not clear whether her arrest was related to her journalism or the book she was writing. Ms Saberi has worked for the BBC, National Public Radio and Fox News for six years in defiance of a ban by the Iranian authorities on her journalistic activities since 2006.
Iran has a poor human rights record in social and political spheres including imprisonment and suppression of reform-minded political activists, students and journalists.
Tens of students from Amir-Kabir University were arrested earlier this year when they objected to a government decision to bury martyrs from Iran-Iraq war on their campus. Eight of them remain in jail.
Although imposition of the death sentence is rare against critics of the regime, from time to time there are suspicious deaths in jail.
A blogger, Omid-Reza Mirsayafi, who was charged with insulting Iran’s top leaders on his blog, died in Evin prison last month after spending 40 days there as part of a 30-month jail sentence. The authorities told the victim’s lawyer that he had committed suicide.
Iran also has one of the highest execution rates in the world for social crimes such as adultery.
Amnesty International says Iran is second only to China for the number of executions it carries out each year, and has the worst record on executing minors, ahead of Saudi Arabia. Last year eight minors were hanged in Iran and Human Rights Watch says there are at least 130 people under the age of 18 on death row.
“Most of these minors are normal teenagers who committed crimes over such issues as fighting over girls at a sensitive age,” says Mohammad Mostafaei, a lawyer representing 30 young defendants.
The victory of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s fundamentalist president, in 2005 led many of Iran’s human rights groups to freeze their efforts and assume a low profile out of disillusionment and the fear of persecution.
“Things have not become necessarily worse than before but the problem is that human rights are not a priority for this government,” says one activist.
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi, who heads Iran’s judiciary, is respected by many lawyers as an open-minded cleric and is viewed as one of the most sympathetic advocates of human rights within the regime.
He has intervened in some cases to limit the prison sentences of activists, stop the hanging of minors and the penalty of stoning to death. He has not always been successful, partly because he represents a minority among the senior clergy most of whom are radical and Sharia-obsessed.
The judiciary has now presented a new penal code with the goal of making it human rights-friendly. It is being studied by parliament and is expected to be approved by the summer.
However, some lawyers are already disappointed. “The new bill will not resolve Iran’s problem internationally even though it takes positive – but insufficient – steps,” Babak Farrahi, a lawyer, says.
Some improvements include reducing prison terms and going some way towards abolishing the penalty of stoning to death, by inserting a clause that it should not be practised if it undermines Islam in the eyes of the international community.
But execution remains the dominant penalty for murder committed by adults or minors, homosexuality, drugs smuggling, armed action against the Islamic regime and any major moves to disrupt the country’s political, economic and social order.
Lawyers are also dismayed by the addition of amendments that define apostasy for the first time as a crime carrying the death penalty and impose the punishment of blinding for anyone found guilty of complicity in a murder.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Iran: Iran charges detained US reporter with spying
AFP
TEHRAN - US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been in Iranian custody since January, has been charged with spying, Tehran’s deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad said on Wednesday.
“Her case has been sent to the revolutionary court. She, without press credentials, was carrying out spying activities under the guise of being a reporter,” Haddad was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
“The evidence is mentioned in her case papers and she has accepted all the charges. She has been arrested under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Saberi, who also holds both US and Iranian nationalities, was initially reportedly detained for buying alcohol which is prohibited in the Islamic republic.
In March, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said Saberi’s press identity card was revoked in 2006 and since then she had been working “illegally” in the country.
Haddad said on Wednesday that Saberi had entered Iran as an “Iranian citizen.”
“She has an Iranian citizenship, passport and an Iranian national identity card. She has entered Iran as an Iranian citizen and if she has another citizenship, we are unaware of it and it has no effect on how we will proceed with her case,” he said.
“There is no evidence that she has another citizenship and the investigation is still on.”
US-born Saberi has reported for US-based National Public Radio (NPR), the BBC and Fox News, and had been living in Iran for six years.
Her parents, Reza and Akiko Saberi, arrived in Tehran on Sunday to pursue her case. They had a 20-minute meeting with her in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on Monday.
Her father told NPR on Tuesday that he planned to stay in Iran until her case was resolved.
He said Roxana, 31, was surprised by their visit, and that she looked pale and weak but was in good spirits.
He said she also wanted to see her lawyer “to point out ... that apparently some of the statements were made under pressure, under threat, you know. So that they were not valid.”
Reza Saberi said he and his wife would try to visit their daughter once a week.
Last month the parents appealed to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for her release, saying she was in a “dangerous” state of mental health.
Washington has repeatedly called on Tehran to release the journalist.
Iran, which does not recognize dual nationality and has had no ties with the United States for three decades, has detained several Iranian-Americans, including academics, in recent years.
TEHRAN - US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been in Iranian custody since January, has been charged with spying, Tehran’s deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad said on Wednesday.
“Her case has been sent to the revolutionary court. She, without press credentials, was carrying out spying activities under the guise of being a reporter,” Haddad was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
“The evidence is mentioned in her case papers and she has accepted all the charges. She has been arrested under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Saberi, who also holds both US and Iranian nationalities, was initially reportedly detained for buying alcohol which is prohibited in the Islamic republic.
In March, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said Saberi’s press identity card was revoked in 2006 and since then she had been working “illegally” in the country.
Haddad said on Wednesday that Saberi had entered Iran as an “Iranian citizen.”
“She has an Iranian citizenship, passport and an Iranian national identity card. She has entered Iran as an Iranian citizen and if she has another citizenship, we are unaware of it and it has no effect on how we will proceed with her case,” he said.
“There is no evidence that she has another citizenship and the investigation is still on.”
US-born Saberi has reported for US-based National Public Radio (NPR), the BBC and Fox News, and had been living in Iran for six years.
Her parents, Reza and Akiko Saberi, arrived in Tehran on Sunday to pursue her case. They had a 20-minute meeting with her in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on Monday.
Her father told NPR on Tuesday that he planned to stay in Iran until her case was resolved.
He said Roxana, 31, was surprised by their visit, and that she looked pale and weak but was in good spirits.
He said she also wanted to see her lawyer “to point out ... that apparently some of the statements were made under pressure, under threat, you know. So that they were not valid.”
Reza Saberi said he and his wife would try to visit their daughter once a week.
Last month the parents appealed to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for her release, saying she was in a “dangerous” state of mental health.
Washington has repeatedly called on Tehran to release the journalist.
Iran, which does not recognize dual nationality and has had no ties with the United States for three decades, has detained several Iranian-Americans, including academics, in recent years.
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