Wow, from a bottle of wine to 8 years for espionage!!! I wonder how long this regime can last with their IRON Fist Policy. From arresting BLOG writers and later killing them under torture to now, and now framing and arresting a young reporter, when is the end and how indifference we have all become to the human rights in our beloved country.
At the same time, regime supporters are trying to mask these injustice with news about foreign build satellites and stem cell research and ...


http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/04/18/iran.us.journalist/index.html

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- A U.S. journalist in Iran was sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage, her father, lawyer and news reports said Saturday -- a sentence that prompted denunciation from the United States.
Roxana Saberi records video in Tehran, Iran, in this photo taken in September 2003.

Roxana Saberi records video in Tehran, Iran, in this photo taken in September 2003.

Iranian media, including an Iranian judiciary source quoted Saturday by the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency, confirmed the sentence of Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old Iranian-American from North Dakota.

"I am deeply disappointed by the reported sentencing of Roxana Saberi by the Iranian judiciary," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement. "We are working closely with the Swiss Protecting Presence to obtain details about the court's decision, and to ensure her well-being."

Clinton said the United States will "continue to vigorously raise our concerns to the Iranian government."

"Ms. Saberi was born and raised in the United States, yet chose to travel to the Islamic Republic of Iran due to her desire to learn more about her cultural heritage. Our thoughts are with her parents and family during this difficult time."

Her father, Reza Saberi, told National Public Radio in an interview Saturday that the decision will be appealed. The Islamic Republic News Agency, another Iranian news outlet, said an appeal must be filed within 20 days.

Roxana Saberi has freelanced for National Public Radio and other news organizations and was writing a book about Iranian culture.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, the journalists' advocacy group, said Saberi was first detained in January, although no formal charges were disclosed.
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"She told her family that she was initially held for buying a bottle of wine. A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry said later that Saberi was being detained at Tehran's Evin Prison for reporting without proper accreditation," the committee said on its Web site.

Reza Saberi told NPR on Saturday he believes his daughter was coerced into making damaging statements. He said the verdict was issued Wednesday.

The court, which didn't meet Thursday and Friday, reconvened Saturday. Reza Saberi said his daughter was brought to the court, but he wasn't allowed to enter.

Her lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, confirmed the verdict and sentence and vowed an appeal would be launched within 20 days.

"I will definitely appeal the verdict within this period," he said.

Reza Saberi said his daughter earlier wanted to go on a hunger strike but she was persuaded not to. However, he said there is a chance she might do so now in light of the verdict.

Reza Saberi said his daughter is "very weak and frail."

"She is quite depressed about this matter and she wants to go on hunger strike. If she does, she's so frail it can be very dangerous to her health."

Others also denounced the verdict.

"Roxana Saberi's trial lacked transparency and we are concerned that she may not have been treated fairly," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, the Middle East and North Africa program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. "We call on the Iranian authorities to release her on bail pending her appeal."

Vivian Schiller, NPR's chief executive officer and president, said the network is "deeply distressed by this harsh and unwarranted sentence."

"Saberi has already endured a three-month confinement in Evin Prison, and we are very concerned for her well-being," Schiller said in a statement. "Through her work for NPR over several years, we know her as an established and respected professional journalist.

"We appeal to all of those who share our concerns to ask that the Iranian authorities show compassion and allow her to return home to the United States immediately with her parents."

North Dakota lawmakers slammed the conviction.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad called the ruling "preposterous," adding that the "charges against her are baseless."

"She was tried in a secret trial without her attorney even being present. That is a travesty of justice."

U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan called the ruling "a shocking miscarriage of justice."

"The Iranian government has held a secret trial, will not make public any evidence, and sentenced an American citizen to eight years in prison for a crime she didn't commit," the Democratic senator said.

U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-North Dakota, said he was "dismayed at the verdict from the secret trial of Roxana Saberi."

"We know Roxana to be a fine young woman of intelligence and integrity and I hope based on humanitarian considerations she will be allowed to return to the United States.

"I am humbled by the brave efforts of Roxana's parents who traveled from Fargo to Tehran, and I will continue to work closely with them in an effort to secure her release."

Feature Story News, the stringer service that employed Saberi in Iran, also condemned the action.

Simon Marks, president and chief correspondent, called the conviction a "miscarriage of justice -- or what passes for justice in modern Iran."

"Roxana moved to Iran in February 2003 to offer global audiences balanced, objective coverage of news developments in the Islamic Republic. Since then, she has always honored journalistic principles of the highest professional standard.

"We note that no evidence to support charges of espionage has ever been furnished by the authorities in Iran. We can only conclude that absolutely none exists."

I was watching IRINN, the IRIB news channel. It tells so much bullshit. It said that as soon as this news was published all US & british news channels stopped their regular programming & started talking only about this issue!

These bastards see an opportunity to use her as a tool/bargaining chip in their upcoming negotiations with the West. The irony is Islamic regime cares less about Iranian and those with Iranian heritage than anyone else. These animals are truly the scum of the human race.

Yet another complete fabrication by the IR. It is no surprise to me that the court kept any evidence and did not release it. Not that they are incapable of fabricating 'evidence' to feed people, but they are arrogant enough to imprison you without producing any evidence and sod the world opinion.

This gets better and better! Now AN is telling the judiciary what to do!?
I can swear until recently they were claiming that the justice ministry is independent. Or maybe I am giving them too much credit?

Iran president urges full defense for US reporter

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's president said Sunday that an American journalist convicted of spying for the U.S. should be allowed to offer a full defense during her appeal, a day after she was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The message was a sign that Iran's leadership does not want the case to derail moves toward a dialogue with the Obama administration to break a 30-year diplomatic deadlock.

Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to Tehran's chief prosecutor instructing him to personally ensure that "suspects be given all their rights to defend themselves" against the charges. "Prepare for the court proceedings ... to observe and apply justice precisely," the state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
The letter came a day after Iran announced the conviction and sentence for Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen who was born in the U.S. and grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. It was the first time Iran has found an American journalist guilty of espionage, and her lawyer said he'll appeal.
President Barack Obama said Sunday he was "gravely concerned" about Saberi's safety and well-being and was confident she wasn't involved in espionage. The U.S. has called the charges baseless and said Iran would gain U.S. goodwill if it "responded in a positive way" to the case.
"She is an Iranian-American who was interested in the country which her family came from. And it is appropriate for her to be treated as such and to be released," Obama said.
Saberi's case has been an irritant in U.S.-Iran relations at a time when Obama is offering to start a dialogue between the longtime adversaries. A few days before her sentence was announced, Ahmadinejad gave the clearest signal yet that Iran, too, was ready for a new relationship with the U.S.
Ahmadinejad's letter also referred to Canadian-Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, who has been in an Iranian prison since November on charges of insulting religious figures. Ahmadinejad requested the prosecutor also ensure that he be allowed to fully defend himself, IRNA reported.
Iran has released few details about the charges against the two. Saberi was arrested in January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But earlier this month, an Iranian judge leveled a more serious allegation that she was passing classified information to U.S. intelligence services.
She told her father in a phone conversation that she was arrested after buying a bottle of wine. Her father said she had been working on a book about Iranian culture and hoped to finish it and return to the U.S. this year.
Saberi, who was 1997 Miss North Dakota, had been living in Iran for six years and worked as a freelance reporter for news organizations including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp. Because Saberi's father was born in Iranian, she received Iranian citizenship.
Her parents, who live in Fargo, traveled to Iran to seek her release. Her father, Reza Saberi, has said his daughter wasn't allowed a proper defense during her one-day trial behind closed doors a week ago. He said no evidence has been made public, and his daughter was tricked into making incriminating statements by officials who told her they would free her if she did.
He told CNN on Sunday that her trial lasted only 15 minutes. "It was a mock trial," he said.
One Iranian analyst said Ahmadinejad's letter was politically motivated and suggested Iran could be using Saberi's case to gain leverage with the U.S.
"Iran can use Saberi's case as a bargaining card in possible negotiations with the U.S.," said analyst Saeed Leilaz.
The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran after its 1979 Islamic revolution and takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Relations deteriorated further under former President George W. Bush, who labeled Iran as part of the so-called "Axis of Evil."
Iran has been mostly lukewarm to the Obama administration's overtures until Ahmadinejad's comment last week that he was ready for a new start.

It was unclear how far Iran's ruling hard-line clerics and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are willing to go to achieve better ties. Some of Iran's hard-liners, including those who dominate the country's judiciary, don't want warmer ties with the U.S. and are trying to derail efforts, analysts say.
The Saberi case "shows that the judiciary and Ahmadinejad have not reached an agreement over ties with the West," said Sergey Barseqian, another Iranian analyst.
Saberi's conviction also comes about two months ahead of key presidential elections in June that are pitting hard-liners against reformists, who support better relations with Washington. Ahmadinejad is seeking re-election, but the hard-liner's popularity has waned and he's been trying to draw support away from reformists. Ahmadinejad was scheduled to meet Sunday with the president of Switzerland at a U.N. racism conference in Geneva. Though it wasn't known what they'd discuss, Switzerland represents the United States' diplomatic interests in Iran. Obama said Sunday that Washington would be in contact with Iran about Saberi through its Swiss intermediaries.

This gets better and better! Now AN is telling the judiciary what to do!?
I can swear until recently they were claiming that the justice ministry is independent. Or maybe I am giving them too much credit?



Yes, they did becaue they wanted us to belive Khatami's hand were tied when it came to imprisonment of our young lions of students and political activists and ....

This is all a political game and she will be pardon but how will many other people who are in Iranian jails get their pardon ??

The 2nd guy which they are talking about is blogger from Canada !!! a Blogger guys !!!

Behrouz AghA,
I also read the moronic "Instructions" which Ahmadwillneedajob (soon I hope) has submitted to IRI judiciary system to do their best and make sure Roxana gets a fair trial and rights given to defend herself.
So in accordance with IRI justice system, in order to receive a fair trial, right to an attorney and expecting a proper court proceeding one must obtain an instruction from the President.
If this was a single low profile case of espionage why does the head of the whole administration need to get involved in it and why was late Ms. Zahra Kazemi couldn't enjoy such a privilege?
I agree with bargaining chip comment but having a tad of knowledge about US policies toward International affairs this incident will not have a iota of influence in the proceedings what so ever and I hope US administration doesn't even respond to it, lest AN might exploit it in what ever platform he is campaigning.
This "Grab an American when you see one next" plan has been set long before poor Roxana being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

نامه سرگشاده قبادی به دنبال محکومیت رکسانا صابری

http://zamaaneh.com/special/2009/04/post_760.html

Saberi 'on hunger strike' in Iran

Ms Saberi has appealed against her sentence
An American-Iranian reporter jailed by Tehran for eight years on charges of espionage has gone on hunger strike, her father has said.

Reza Saberi said his daughter Roxana told him she had stopped eating five days ago.

"I'm very worried," he told Reuters news agency.

Ms Saberi was convicted of being an American spy and sentenced behind closed doors by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran a week ago.

She has become somewhat of a cause celebre, with US President Barack Obama expressing dismay at her conviction and rallies called to demand her release.

Mr Obama and Ms Saberi's family have insisted she is not a spy.

But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has refused to intervene, insisting the courts acted independently and that she will be accorded her full rights.

Ms Saberi has lodged an appeal, which Iranian authorities say will be heard fairly and quickly.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8018193.stm