Roxana Saberi

BERKELEY, California, Apr 20 (IPS) – Since Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi was sentenced to eight years in prison last week on the charge of spying for foreign governments, human rights and press freedom groups have become increasingly critical of the political nature of her case and the harsh and unprecedented penalty.
In a statement Monday, Amnesty International said that ”U.S.-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi is a pawn to the ongoing political developments between Iran and the USA and should be considered a prisoner of conscience.”
”The fact that Roxana Saberi faced a shifting tide of accusations from the time of her arrest until her trial is an indication that the Iranian authorities were looking for any excuse to detain her,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. ”There is no reason for holding Roxana Saberi, unless the Iranian authorities can provide convincing evidence that she committed a recognisable criminal offence.”
Meanwhile, Iranian-Canadian blogger Hussein Derakhshan, has been in prison since November 2008, accused of insulting religious leaders.
- IPS Edited story

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