Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen and journalist, has been convicted in Iran of espionage, and sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Roxana Saberi was arrested in late January; initial reports were that she was accused of working with expired press credentials. Very recently, however, either the true charges were revealed or additional charges were file: espionage against Iran and for the United States.
Saberi has reported a number of news agenceies, including NPR and the BBC, and has been jailed at Evin Prison in Iran since Jan. 31.
The deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Robert Mahoney, said:
"We believe that Roxana Saberi's trial was not transparent. And it does not seem that she has been treated fairly. We would call on the Iranian authorities to release her on bail pending appeal because we believe she should not be confined in Evin prison."
Some feel this is simply just an obvious example of saber-rattling by Iran against the U.S., by imprisoning an American journalist. At a time where the Obama administration is willing, with restrictions, to talk to Iran, this wouldn't seem a good move.
The conviction of Saberi raises the question: how, if at all, will Washington react to the conviction. On Thursday, prior to news of the conviction, the State Department said Saberi's jailing was not helpful in efforts to thaw relations, and that Iran would gain U.S. goodwill if it "responded in a positive way" to the case. It doesn't appear that Iran took that to heart.
Saberi's lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi said he would appeal the sentence.
In a statement released Saturday, Vivian Schiller, the president and CEO of NPR, said:
“We are deeply distressed by this harsh and unwarranted sentence. We know her as an established and respected professional journalist.”
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