Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of espionage. On Sunday, President Obama urged Iranian officials to release the 31 year-old Fargo, ND native, at the Summit of Americas.
Iranian officials believed Saberi was a United States spy and used old press credentials to illegally collect sensitive information. President Obama had this to say about the allegations: “She is an American citizen and I have complete confidence that she was not engaging in any sort of espionage. She is an Iranian American who was interested in the country which her family came from. And it is appropriate for her to be treated as such, and to be released.”
Back in the United States Saberi’s family believes Iranian officials tricked her into confessing through a closed door one day trial. Although Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the higher courts have granted Saberi an appeal, authorities in Tehran, Iran’s capital city, don’t want the President to butt in. Hopefully a peaceful resolution will come of this.
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Comments
Jenny
April 21st, 2009 - 10:06:24 AM
These things are always tricky. On one hand you want to put pressure on the Iranian government, but on the other, you don't want to put too much and let their leaders stir up anti-American feelings. Just glad it's not Bush trying to pull this maneuver.
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