Hillary Clinton said in a statement that she's "deeply disappointed" by an Iranian court's conviction on Saturday of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi on espionage charges, and promised to "vigorously raise our concerns to the Iranian government.”
Saberi, a 31-year-old former Miss North Dakota who moved to Iran six years ago, had worked the BBC and as a stringer for Fox and NPR until Iran's Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance revoked her press credentials in 2006, without explanation.
"Ms. Saberi was born and raised in the United States, yet chose to travel to the Islamic Republic of Iran due to her desire to learn more about her cultural heritage. Our thoughts are with her parents and family during this difficult time," said Clinton in the statement.
Saberi, a dual national of the U.S. and Iran, has been held since she was arrested in January for buying a bottle of wine. The arrest only became known in the United States after NPR aired a report on it on March 1, after hearing from her father.
She is the latest in a series of Iranian-Americans in Iran to be charged with spying in recent years, and her eight year sentence — following a one-day trial — is the longest thus far handed down to a dual Iranian and American citizen.
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If she confessed of being a spy...well that is serious..but if they were made her to do so .. poor her... i think she will left alone there ..
ReplyDeleteHi Lydia,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I understand that Saberi was manipulated into making false statements about her activities just as US CIA interrogators manipulated detainees into confessing to crimes they did not commit. It's tragic for all concerned.