Imprisoned Journalist Continues Hunger Strike
by Nalea J. Ko

Journalist Roxana Saberi’s turned 32 years last Sunday as she continues to be incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin Prison on an eight-year sentence for espionage.

Her father, Reza Saberi, recently confirmed that Saberi has been on hunger strike. Her family was told that she was initially arrested in January for buying a bottle of wine, which is against the country’s Islamic law. Iranian prosecutors later accused Roxana Saberi of working as a journalist without the proper documentation. Now Iranian officials allege that the Roxana Saberi was purchasing information about Iran’s nuclear program.

She was tried in April for espionage; her lawyer, Abdolsamad Khoramshahi, has filed an appeal. Saberi moved to Iran, her father’s home country, in 2003 to work as a reporter. The North Dakota native has reported for Fox News, BBC and NPR. She received a master’s degree in journalism from the Northwestern University in Chicago and another master’s in international relations at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

While in Iran, Roxana Saberi reported on a broad array of issues, including Iranian movie trends, a fatal plane crash and U.N. sanctions. Her case continues to garner international attention. The BBC called Iran officials to request “independent access to her.” U.S. officials have also expressed concern—U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for her “speedy release.”

A letter composed in March by various officials from news outlets appealed for her release, pleading for international organizations to intervene under the Geneva Conventions. They requested access to Roxana Saberi to “ascertain her health and well-being.”

www.FreeRoxana.net has been created to encourage concerned persons to write to Mohammad Khazzee, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations. His mailing address is listed on the site’s front page.

While Roxana Saberi continues her hunger strike (an April 27th Twitter update from All Day News reported Saberi lost 10 pounds since beginning her fast), her father remains in Tehran. Reza Saberi, who maintains dual citizenship, has said that he will not leave the country until his daughter returns home. “I will stay here until she is released,” he told an AP TV News reporter.

Update (May 11, 2009): Saberi was released from prison and her sentence reduced. Read it at BBC.

abdolsamad khoramshahi, bbc, cambridge university, education, fox news, geneva convention, hillary clinton, hunger strike, iran, journalism, north dakota, northwestern university, npr, reza saberi, roxana saberi, tehran, twitter, U.N.