Iran Charges U.S. Reporter With Espionage

(AP)  An American journalist jailed for more than two months in Iran has been charged with espionage, her lawyer said Wednesday, dashing hopes of a quick release days after her parents arrived in the country seeking her freedom.

The espionage charge is far more serious than earlier statements by Iranian officials that the woman had been arrested for working in the Islamic Republic without press credentials and her own assertion in a phone call to her father that she was arrested after buying a bottle of wine.

Roxana Saberi, who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Iran, has been living in Iran for six years. She has reported from there for several news organizations, including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp.

The announcement of spying charges got the attention of the Obama administration, which has been pushing for her release.

"We are deeply concerned by the news that we're hearing," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters at the State Department, adding that the administration has asked Swiss diplomats in Iran for the "most accurate, up-to-date information" on Saberi. Though the U.S. has no diplomatic relations with Iran, it has an interests section at the Swiss Embassy.

Officials in the woman's home state who have been pressing for action also expressed concern about the direction her case is taking.

"This is disturbing news and is certainly hard to believe," said Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, noting that at first the government had accused her of working without accreditation. "Now the story is Roxana is a spy? I find this all very hard to believe."

The 31-year-old freelance reporter was arrested in late January. Her lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, said Saberi has been informed of the espionage charge against her and that he plans to request that she be released on bail until a trial.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting journalists and suppressing freedom of speech. The government has arrested several Iranian-Americans in the past few years, citing alleged attempts to overthrow its Islamic government.

In another indication of the seriousness of the case, Saberi's lawyer also learned this week that it would be reviewed by Iran's Revolutionary Court, which normally handles cases involving threats to national security. No date has been set for a trial.

The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted a judge in charge of the case as saying that Saberi is accused of involvement in spying under the cover of being a journalist.

Khorramshahi said he has not yet been allowed to read the text of the indictment, which he expects to see by Saturday.

After her arrest, Iran's Foreign Ministry had initially said she had engaged in illegal activities because she continued working in Iran after the government revoked her press credentials in 2006.

Saberi's parents visited their daughter Monday in Evin prison, north of the capital, Tehran. The couple from North Dakota met Saberi for half an hour - the first time they had spoken to her since she called them on Feb. 10 to say she had been arrested.

Her father, Reza Saberi, and her mother, Akiko, were pleased after the meeting and said it appeared their daughter was in good health and in good spirits, according to the lawyer.

They could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Saberi's father has said his daughter was finishing a book on Iran and had planned to return to the United States this year.

Roxana Saberi was Miss North Dakota in 1997 and was among 10 finalists in the Miss America pageant that year. She graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, with degrees in mass communication and French and with ambitions to become an international correspondent. She said that her goal as Miss North Dakota was to encourage people to appreciate cultural differences.

Saberi's mother is from Japan and her father is from Iran. Roxana was born in the United States and grew up in Fargo. Her father has said she was determined to go to Iran.

"I was very worried and I was reluctant for her to go," Reza Saberi said in an interview March 1. "She was very persistent about it."

[factsearcher]

AP reports, "The espionage charge is far more serious than earlier statements by Iranian officials that the woman had been arrested for working in the Islamic Republic without press credentials and her own assertion in a phone call to her father that she was arrested after buying a bottle of wine. "
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A classic, contrived crisis by Iran and Ahmadinejad, in particular.

Which makes it a mistake for Obama and America to read more into this than an early attempt by hard-liners in Iran (Ahmadinejad, clerics and the military) to gain a negotiating advantage in continuing talks.

The Persians are nothing if not horse traders par excellence.

Meanwhile, it is common knowledge Ahmadinejad has his staunch opposition. How he plays this affair may very well help end his administration.

Ahmadinejad is a wannabe populist allied with the military and Islamic religious fundamentalists. In this respect, he reminds many of the Bush coalition of fringe, hard-right groups which drove his policy.

Interestingly, both Ahmadinejad and Bush2 were opposed to equal public access for all groups to the airwaves, opposed free speech for the opposition (Bush2 preferring "demonstration zones" for protestors), and repeatedly abused citizen rights under the law.

Bush is out, and Ahmadinejad may be next. That Ahmadinejad would choose a theatrical ploy imposing needless risk on his regime shows how desperate he has become for public support.

He is not likely to get it over the case of journalist Roxana Saberi. Most of Iran is young, with an estimated 60 percent under 25-- and are fast-losing patience for a leader without leadership. A large percentage of Iran's young demographic may even entertain sympathy for Ms. Saberi.

The same wave of change which elected Obama promises to unseat old actors in Iran, as well. America can afford to wait patiently, even if poor Ms. Saberi cannot.
Posted by alphaa10000

Very well written alphaa, just one little note...
Ajhmajena is a puppet of Khomeini and have many many followers..
I surely hope you are right about him being on his way out...for the world's sake!

[Kuei1248]

"Too bad we didn't put someone in the White House who has some balls!!! "

For the last 8 years we had someone in the whitehouse with balls. The problem is he had no brains.

[iowa0319]

There is too much inbreeding in the middle east, they are all lunatics, especially that little rat faced president.