Roxana Saberi freed from Iranian jail
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A lawyer for a U.S. journalist jailed in Iran says she has been freed from prison after an appeals court suspended her eight-year jail sentence. Roxana Saberi, a 32-year-old dual Iranian-American citizen, was convicted last month of spying for the U.S. and sentenced to eight years in prison. An appeals court reduced her jail term on Monday to a two-year suspended sentence.
Nicole: It remains to be seen what is motivating the Iranian government to release Saberi. Trita Parsi has been covering Saberi's case at Huffington Post and reports that Saberi's arrest and sentencing have always been politically motivated:
According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI), the Iranian authorities didn't even disclose the laws she allegedly violated, nor did they announce under what article of the law she was indicted.
Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist who has been living in Iran since 2003, was first arrested in January. She was accused of buying wine. The allegation was later changed to engaging in illegal activities by continuing to report after her press credentials were revoked in 2006. Then, during her closed-door trail on April 13, 2009, the authorities changed the charge once again. Now she was accused of spying for the US government.[..]
Most analysts agree that she has become a pawn in the political games between the US and Iran, though the explanations for Tehran's actions differ.
One theory reads that both Saberi and Esha Momeni, another Iranian American who was arrested in 2008, will be used as leverage with the US in a future negotiation, possibly to exchange for two Iranian nationals taken by US forces in a 2007 raid of the Iranian consulate in Irbil, Iraq. Tehran maintains that the two Iranians are diplomats. The Bush administration said that they were Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps agents. (US forces arrested five Iranians - three of them have been released, but two of them remain in US custody.) Some have speculated that the case is an effort by hardliners in the Iranian Judiciary who seek to undermine US-Iran negotiations. This would fit an old pattern in which Iranian hardliners often used their influence in the Judiciary or the Intelligence ministry to create roadblocks for any US-Iran diplomacy.
Interestingly, WaPo subscribes to the theory that they may be seeking the release of their diplomats. But Joe Klein at Time (of whom foreign policy experts I trust have said has been reading tea leaves of diplomacy well of late) thinks it's an attempt by the really hardcore mullahs to soften up, anticipating their upcoming election and hoping to perhaps keep Ahmadinejad in power.
There is a real chance that the internal Iranian faction that favors rejoining the world will succeed and negotiations will begin.
At this point, there's just no way to know what kind of discussions are/were going on, and it is just wonderful to know that she has been freed, though I am reminded that we still have another journalist/blogger in an Iranian jail, charged with spying, not to mention Americans Laura Ling and Euna Lee detained in North Korea.
Her punishment is now worse - exile to North Dakota
Well I don't see anything wrong with this action. Iran arrests 1 person without warrant or charge and put them through a Kangaroo court.
The US 'arrests' 650 Taxi cab drivers and farmers (maybe some facotry workers and other poor folk) from Afghanistan and Iraq, tortures them for years arrested without warrant or charge and puts them through a kangaroo court aswell.
I really think the US is getting off lucky on this one.
You know, if you don't want it to happen to your citizens, you SHOULDN'T HAVE STARTED IT.
'The devil crept into Heaven, God overslept on the 7th, the New World Order was born on Sept 11th.' - Immortal Technique
I'm very happy she's out, and hope she can get to safety soon.
It gives me hope for the future that the US and Iran can cooperate with each other.
Just imagine if McCrazy had won last November. We'd be in a nuclear war with them by now.
...ripping off that damn headscarf and letting her hair blow in the wind.
not a hard concept to grasp that other people have different values and traditions, is it? American exceptionalism can be pretty obnoxious some times...
Yeah, its like running up to a Nun and tearing off her habit and spitting on her because you find her to be 'different'.
*sigh*
'The devil crept into Heaven, God overslept on the 7th, the New World Order was born on Sept 11th.' - Immortal Technique
... a nun realizing that she doesn't have to wear her habit or submit to "holy" males in order to express her spirituality, and taking her own veil off.
BTW, did I say anything about spitting on anyone?
I hope the two women in N.Korea are freed next...they're probably not being treated very well...my understanding is, no one has seen them in about a month or so...
Again... You stop holding people without trial or charge and maybe they will let yours go. You guys opened this can of worms.
'The devil crept into Heaven, God overslept on the 7th, the New World Order was born on Sept 11th.' - Immortal Technique
The entire situation shows how complicated politics is with and inside Iran and of course, the former Bush Administration did everything in their power to make it more complicated.
Yes, the Iranian general populace would like to see the mullahs out of power, but they will protect them until death should anyone try to do it forcefully. It is something that many fail to understand. Persia has always been a subtle place, where politics and diplomacy can never be straight forward. To do otherwise, is pure folly.
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that the Bush Administration simply continued along the path that Saint Ronnie set in place during the Iran hostage crisis, after years of interference from Pappy Bush and his cadre of spooks.
My, what a tangled web they wove ...
Its like that many people wanna get rid of the Monarchy in England.. But if you threaten the Queen, we'll mess you up. Same thing.
It's their tie to their past. One they are proud of.
'The devil crept into Heaven, God overslept on the 7th, the New World Order was born on Sept 11th.' - Immortal Technique
It's a good thing she wasn't captured by the US. She be in Gitmo for years with NO trial.
It is embarrassing when Iran practices justice and my country does not.
Maybe it will be better with Obama.
Roxana's first mistake was working for Fox News. After 2/3's of the CIA Covert Agents resigned because Cheney leaked Plame's name, the US needed agents. So they asked Journalist to spy. Roxana who was in Iran did so work for Fox News and little did she know how they were using her. Once the Iran govenment checked her computer and found the evidence notice how Fox News and the Bush Team didn't say a word. If Obama hadn't become President, Roxana would still be in jail. Thank goodness Iran doesn't torture prisoners like the US does. The US as Cheney said takes pride in Torturing woman and children. Bush lied as long as he could. Now I hope Roxana learned her lesson is doesn't take a job again from the Bush Fox News Station.
A female Fox news reporter without blond hair and a fascist mansuit? IS that even possible? ;P
'The devil crept into Heaven, God overslept on the 7th, the New World Order was born on Sept 11th.' - Immortal Technique
i wonder if obama's upcoming trip to egypt had anything to do with the release?
who care to admit that diplomacy actually works, at least in this case? (Sadly on the Huffington Post at least I've seen a few who still try to spin this as "weakness" on Obama's part. I'll spare you the convoluted argument.)
now there's room for Cheney
What was this woman doing in a repressive country like Iran? I don't care if she is Iranian. Why would she want to live there?
The same question applies to the two woman who are now jailed in North Korea?
The question also applies to the any American who goes to countries like Iran and North Korea to visit and/or live?
I've heard of a country were they do that to people. And then the leaders get on national TV and say how wonderful they are to torture people to death. Some place that begins with a U....
Are you quite certain it isn't Saudi Arabia you're thinking of that's repressive? Because it's one of the worst if you happen to be born a woman. Or Israel too if you happen to be born Palistanian.
"What was this woman doing in a repressive country like Iran? I don't care if she is Iranian. Why would she want to live there?"
There are lots of possible answers to that. Perhaps she is highly moral and committed to facilitating a better understanding between the US and Iran. Perhaps she wants to make a name for herself as a journalist. Perhaps she was just naive and didn't appreciate the dangers. Even perhaps she really was a spy. In any case it is clear that she didn't receive a fair trial and the prospect of her spending several years in jail, while not as bad as indefinite detainment and torture at Guantanamo, was still a miscarriage of justice. Don't blame the victim. Whatever her reasons I'm glad she is free.
... maybe that little fact flew over your feeble mind at supersonic speeds.
"you don't care that she is Iranian" Gee wiz, yeah... why let tiny things like reality, facts, and context get in the way of a good rant, eh?
If you have not seen photos of Iran I suggest you do.
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/...
It's a beautiful place with loving and caring people. Much like most places on earth.
The media makes them out to be EVIL. North Korea even isn't that BAD. Though it's not as modern and lovely as Iran.
Iran is a bad place to be if you are openly gay, but then again, so is Georgia, US.
You wanna see a really horrifying spot where you cannot speak your mind at all? Saudi Arabia.
'The devil crept into Heaven, God overslept on the 7th, the New World Order was born on Sept 11th.' - Immortal Technique
What was this woman doing in a repressive country like Iran? I don't care if she is Iranian. What kind of mentatility would want to live in Iran when they have a choice?
The same question applies to the two woman who are now jailed in North Korea?
The question also applies to the any American who goes to countries like Iran and North Korea?
isn't quite the place you believe it to be. In fact I'd be willing to bet quite a lot that it isn't at all like you imagine.
... you might want to read Not Without My Daughter, by Betty Mahmoody.
You might also want to read "Iranian Women and Girls: Victims of Exploitation and Violence," by Sarvnaz Chitsaz and Soona Samsami:
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/mhviran.htm
You might also want to visit:
http://www.parstimes.com/women/
for hundreds of links to statistics and facts about how women and girls are treated in Iran.
The same list of violent statistics occur in Los Angeles. I'm not sure you are going to convince me they are all evil because of this...
'The devil crept into Heaven, God overslept on the 7th, the New World Order was born on Sept 11th.' - Immortal Technique
... anything about all Iranians being evil? If you read Not Without My Daughter, you'll also read about the good Iranian males who helped Betty Mahmoody escape with her daughter to safety.
And I disagree that the same violent statistics occur in L.A. Violence of course does occur there, but it is not a part of official government policy as it is in Iran.
Women and girls in L.A. can dress pretty much as they wish. They can belong to the religion of their choice, own property, sign contracts, travel at will without male escorts, use birth control, get legal abortions, divorce their husbands and, if they're fit parents, get custody of their children. Their testimony in court is equal to that of males. They are free to date and marry whom they choose, and can be openly gay if that's who they are. Their families don't have the right to murder them in order to uphold the family's honor. Women and girls in Iran don't have these freedoms.
The charges and court proceedings sound suspiciously a lot like something from Gitmo to me.
So now that Obama's freed a hostage without selling weapons, I guess that automatically makes him better than Reagan.
Fan-flocking-tastic. Good shit happens too!
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