Roxana Saberi

Roxana Saberi ( persian رکسانا صابری; born April 26, 1977 in Belleville, New Jersey ) is a journalist with U.S. and Iranian citizenship. On April 18, 2009 Saberi was convicted of espionage in Iran to eight years in prison. In May 2009, the sentence was reduced to two years on probation and Saberi released.

Life

The daughter of an Iranian-born father and a Japanese -born mother was born in New Jersey and grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, on. In 1997 she was elected Miss North Dakota, in the following year she scored in the elections to Miss America a place among the top ten. At Northwestern University in Chicago, she completed her journalism education with the master. In 2003 she went to Tehran to study Iranian Studies. In addition, she worked as a freelance journalist, mainly for the American National Public Radio ( NPR) and the British radio station BBC. In 2006 she was withdrawn from the accreditation, but she worked from time to time continue as a reporter, without that this was objected to by the authorities. At the same time she wrote a book about her experiences in Iran.

For the end of 2009 they had planned their return to the United States.

Arrest and process

Saberi was arrested January 31, 2009 in Iran and first of the illegal purchase of alcohol, then eventually charged the continuation of her work as a journalist after moving their press card and espionage. Apparently Saberi came to a secret report of a strategic research department of the Iranian president's office about the war in Iraq, but do not used for their work. Saberi confessed that she recanted at the hearing, as she claimed to have been deceived. The judge, however found it had collected in Iran information and documents and forwarded to the U.S. Secret Service. On April 18, 2009 Saberi was sentenced to eight years in prison. Your attorney announced appointment, which was approved by the Head of the Judiciary of Iran and established on May 10, 2009. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had indirectly criticized the proceedings and called upon the judiciary to a fair trial. Amnesty International campaigned with an Urgent Action for Saberi.

Release

After her conviction Saberi went on a hunger strike in prison. Also, due to an international media campaign and the intervention of U.S. President Barack Obama lifted the Court of Appeal on 11 May 2009, the eight -year sentence for spying on and changed the sentence to two years probation because " Saberi no longer working with a hostile state it is charged "; She was subsequently released. Judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Dschamschidi assessed the release of Saberi as " Iranian grace proof " because the journalist cooperating with the authorities and had shown remorse. Eleven days after her release from prison in Tehran Ewin Saberi returned mid-May 2009 to the United States. She thanked the U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for their support. After her release, she wrote a book about her experiences. This was published in March 2010; the German translation was published in March 2011.

Works

• Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran. Harper 2010, ISBN 978-0061965289
• 100 days. My imprisonment in Iran, Eichborn, Frankfurt am Main 2011 ISBN 978-3-8218-6538-6