IRAN SAYS US JOURNALIST TRIED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
By Ali Akbar Dareini
AP
14 April 09
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An American journalist jailed in Iran and charged
with espionage faced a court in a one-day trial behind closed doors and
a verdict is expected within weeks, the country’s judiciary spokesman
said Tuesday.
The unusually swift trial in Iran’s Revolutionary Court comes as the
United States has publicly pressed for Roxana Saberi’s release.
The 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 against her
last week, charging her with spying for the United States.
"Yesterday, the first trial session was held. She presented her final
defense," judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi told reporters. "The
court will issue its verdict within the next two to three weeks."
The U.S. government has repeatedly called for Saberi’s release and
the charges against her and news of her trial were a setback —
especially at a time when President Barack Obama has expressed a
willingness to talk with Iran after many years of rocky relations
under the former Bush administration.
It was unclear why the trial was moving at such a fast pace —
especially because the charges leveled against Saberi were so
serious. Under Iranian law, those convicted of spying normally face
up to 1020 years in prison.
Saberi’s lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, said he was not authorized
to speak to the media about the trial, which he was permitted to
attend. "I will comment only after the verdict is issued," he told
The Associated Press.
Her parents, who traveled to Iran in a bid to help win their daughter’s
release, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Saberi, who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, has been living in Iran for
the last six years, working as a freelance reporter for organizations
including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp.
An Iranian investigative judge involved in the case has alleged Saberi
passed classified information to U.S. intelligence services but did
not provide further details.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week the United
States was "deeply concerned" about the espionage charges, which the
department described as "baseless."
Jamshidi criticized the U.S. on Tuesday for saying Saberi was innocent
and calling for her release.
"That a government expresses an opinion without seeing the indictment
is laughable," he told a news conference.
Saberi’s parents, who live in Fargo, visited their daughter last week
in Evin prison, a facility north of Tehran that is well-known for
holding political prisoners. The couple met Saberi for 30 minutes —
the first time they had spoken to her since she called them on Feb. 10
to say she had been arrested.
Her father, Iranian-born Reza Saberi, said he would stay in Iran until
his daughter was freed. He has said his daughter was finishing a book
on Iran and had planned to return to the United States this year.
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 through what it
calls a "soft revolution."
In a separate case, an Iranian appeals court upheld a three-year prison
sentence for an Iranian woman of Armenian descent who worked in Iran
for the Washington-based International Research & Exchanges Board,
Jamshidi said Tuesday.
Silva Harotonian was arrested in June and sentenced in January. The
United States had called on Iran to release Harotonian and says her
conviction on charges of trying to overthrow the Iranian government
are also "baseless."
Her employer and family say she is an administrative assistant,
not a political activist.
The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Iran after the 1979
Islamic Revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by
hard-line students.
Tensions have been high in recent years over U.S. accusations that
Iran is secretly seeking to develop nuclear weapons and providing
weapons to Shiite militants in Iraq. Iran denies both charges.
Obama h as said his administration is looking for opportunities to
open direct talks with Iran and has pledged to rethink Washington’s
relationship with its longtime adversary. Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad responded by saying Iran would welcome talks with the
U.S. — but only if there is mutual respect.
Associated Press Writer Nasser Karimi contributed to this report.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
