Roxana Saberi's Parents Fly To Iran To Visit Her In Detention

TEHRAN, Iran — The parents of an American journalist imprisoned in Iran will be allowed to visit their daughter Monday, and her case is to be reviewed by a court that normally handles security threats, their lawyer said Sunday.

Reza Saberi and his wife, Akiko, arrived in Iran early Sunday and met with authorities at Evin prison who gave them permission to see their daughter, Roxana, during Monday's weekly visitation period, said the lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshai.

Iranian prosecutors have issued a formal indictment against Roxana Saberi, Khorramshai said, but he has not yet seen the charges and probably will not for several weeks under Iran's court procedures.

Saberi's case will be reviewed by the Revolutionary Court, probably next month, Khorramshai said. He had no further details. The court usually handles cases involving threats to state security.

Iranian officials have said Saberi was arrested for working in the country after her press credentials had expired. Her parents, who are from North Dakota, found out about her arrest in a Feb. 10 phone call from her.

Her father has said that Saberi has told her family she has not been harmed physically but that the detention is psychologically challenging.

Saberi grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Iran. She has lived in Iran for six years and has reported for several news organizations.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week the United States had given a letter to Iranian officials during a meeting in Europe, seeking Iran's help in resolving the cases of Saberi and two other Americans missing or detained in Iran.

The returns of Saberi, Robert Levinson and Esha Momeni would be a humanitarian gesture, the letter said.

Levinson, a retired FBI agent from Coral Springs, Florida, was last seen on Iran's Kish Island on March 8, 2007. He disappeared in Iran while investigating cigarette smuggling for a client of his private security firm.

Momeni, a dual U.S. and Iranian national, was visiting Tehran to research a master's thesis on the women's rights movement in Iran. Momeni, born in Los Angeles, was arrested Oct. 15 on a traffic violation.

Comments

[harriettubman]

09:35 AM on 04/06/2009

Whoever these journalists work for they should use a little common sense before heading into countries that don't like America. Lisa Ling's sister and a producer are in a Korean prison right now. I'd either have to quit my job or tell my boss to find me another assignment. It's not worth it.

[PlayTOE]

08:17 PM on 04/05/2009

Saberi's case will be reviewed by the Revolutionary Court, probably next month, Khorramshai said. He had no further details. The court usually handles cases involving threats to state security.

A foreigner purchasing a bottle of wine is hardly a matter of state security. One would not even expect jail, but it would bring a fine.

Clearly there is more to this case.
I tend to suspect that her tell all book on womens rights in Iran told a few embarrassing stories.

[i5kfun]

03:06 PM on 04/05/2009

This report is very misleading. She was arrested for the purchase of a bottle of wine, because wine is against the law in that country. Its sort of like a foreigner being arrested in the USA for purchasing a rock of crack or a joint. When in Rome you must do as the Romans. When in Iran you must follow their laws. That is the way the world works, and if you don't like Iran's laws - don't go there!

[AdamND]

12:46 AM on 04/06/2009

yea here if you buy a joint you don't get sent to gov't prison where you sit for months without outside contact. You get a night in jail and bailed out.

[i5kfun]

08:30 AM on 04/06/2009

What if you buy some coke or heron?