Canadian wildfire smoke covers Minnesota, alert issued until noon Wednesday

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

(AP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said an
American journalist sentenced to eight years in prison on charges
of spying for the U.S. should be allowed to offer a full defense at
her appeal, the state news agency reported Sunday.

      The statement came a day after Iran announced the conviction and
sentence for Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian
citizen, and native of Fargo who attended Concordia College in
Moorhead, Minn. 

It was the first time Iran has found an American
journalist guilty of espionage, and her lawyer said he will appeal.


      Ahmadinejad instructed chief Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi
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 IRNA
state news agency quoted the president as saying.


      Saberi's case has been an irritant in U.S.-Iran relations at a
time when President Barack Obama is offering to start a dialogue to
break a 30-year-old diplomatic deadlock. 


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.


      President Obama said Sunday that he's "gravely concerned"
about the safety and well-being of a U.S. journalist and Fargo
native jailed in Iran. He's confident she is not involved in
espionage against Tehran. The U.S. has called the charges baseless
and said Iran would gain U.S. good will if it "responded in a
positive way" to the case.


      Iran has released few details about the charges. Saberi was
arrested in late January and initially accused of working without
press credentials. But earlier this month, an Iranian judge leveled
a far 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 the culture and people of Iran, and
hoped to finish it and return to the United States this year.


      The Fargo native had been living in Iran for six years and had
worked as a freelance reporter for several news organizations
including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp.


Because Saberi's father is Iranian, she received Iranian
citizenship.


      Her father, Reza Saberi, is in Iran and has said his daughter
was not 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 her trial only lasted about 15 minutes.


      "The trial of course was not a real trial," her father told
CNN. "A few minutes until the trial, she still didn't know there
was a trial," he added. "It was a mock trial."


      On Saturday, the father told NPR that his daughter was convicted
Wednesday, two days after she appeared for trial. He said the court
waited until Saturday to inform lawyers of its decision. 

Her father
was not allowed into the courtroom to see his daughter, whom he
described as "quite depressed."


      Saberi's case has been a point of friction between the U.S. and
Iran at a time when Obama has said he wants to engage in talks on
Tehran's nuclear program and other issues - a departure from the
tough talk of the Bush administration.


      One Iranian analyst said Ahmadinejad's comments were politically
motivated and Iran could be using Saberi's case to gain leverage
with the United States as it seeks better relations.


      "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 the former President
George W. Bush, who labeled Iran as part of the so-called "Axis of
Evil" along with Saddam Hussein's Iraq and North Korea.


      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.


      But Iran's judiciary is dominated by hard-liners, who some
analysts say are trying to derail efforts to improve U.S.-Iran
relations.


      Saberi's conviction comes about two months ahead of key
presidential elections in June that are pitting hard-liners against
reformists who support better relations with the United States.

Ahmadinejad is seeking re-election, but the hard-liner's popularity
has waned as Iran's economy struggles with high-inflation and
unemployment.


      Ahmadinejad also urged the chief Tehran prosecutor to allow
jailed Canadian-Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan the right to
fully defend himself. 

Derakhshan, who has made trips to Israel and
blogged in both English and Farsi, has been in prison since
November on charges of insulting religious figures. He helped
ignite the blog boom in Iran in 2001 by posting simple instructions
online on how to create sites in Farsi.

      There was no immediate response from the prosecutor, and under
Iranian law, the president has no direct authority over the
judiciary.
      

Gallery

Saberi sentenced to eight years

Klobuchar to continue fight for Saberi's release

Iran says Saberi tried behind closed doors

Iran charges American journalist with espionage

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said an
American journalist sentenced to eight years in prison on charges
of spying for the U.S. should be allowed to offer a full defense at
her appeal, the state news agency reported Sunday.

Iran president urges full defense for US reporter

Go Deeper.

Like this?