My Interview With Roxana Saberi's Lawyer: "She Was Shocked and Distraught"
After the announcement of her eight-year prison sentence, American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi's attorney, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, told in a telephone interview from Tehran that Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Laureate will join the legal team of the case. Khorramshahi also said that he will appeal the sentence within the next 20 days. Roxana Saberi's attorney believes that in order to prove such a serious charge, the case must clearly show intent in the crime, and his client's case clearly lacks evidence of intent.
At what stage is your client's case?
Both Ms. Saberi and myself have objected to the verdict. We have the right to request an appeal. We have 20 days in which to offer our reasoning for refuting the charges made against Ms. Saberi. After we have submitted our appeal, the case can be reviewed by a higher court. We are waiting to see what happens.
Were you present when the verdict was announced?
According to rules and procedures, the verdict is announced to both the defendant and her attorney. Ms. Saberi and I were both summoned to the court to hear the verdict.
What was Ms. Saberi's reaction to hearing her eight-year sentence?
When she heard of the sentence, she found it unacceptable. She was shocked and distraught. It was totally unexpected for me, as well. I had provided the court with reasoning which would refute the charges, and I continue to hold to my belief. I will provide my appeal to the court in 20 days.
Would you say the evidence in this case was proportionate to the sentence issued?
According to Article 580, referenced in the charges, a crime is only ascertained when intent to commit the crime has been established. In this case it should have been proven that the defendant has knowingly committed acts against the regime. I could not ascertain such intent.
Where is Ms. Saberi held at this time?
She is in Ward 209 of Evin prison. She is not in solitary confinement. (Political prisoners are assigned to Ward 209.)
How was her psychological condition when you talked to her?
Naturally after hearing the verdict, her psychological condition was not good. I gave her assurances and I hope to see the verdict changed during appeal.
What are your plans for the appeal?
My approach has always been to defend my clients based on the word of law. I will continue to pursue legal avenues and legal arguments and serious follow-ups in order that I may help my client. After consulting with Roxana's father, Mr. Saberi, we invited Ms. Ebadi to co-represent Ms. Saberi during the appeal process. This was done at Mr. Saberi's request and it was met with Ms. Ebadi's and my agreement.
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Did you also interview the prosecutor? I guess that would violate your partiality.
Here's a link to Amnesty International's request to free Roxana Saberi for those want to participate. It also provides background information on the case. http://tak
Iranian state media ran 3-minute TV commercials claiming that Pepsi stands for "Place Every Penny Save Israel !!!
http://www
With this kind of reality disconnect, can an American expect justice from Iranian secret police?
from Amnesty International report April 20, 09 http://www
US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi is a pawn to the ongoing political developments between Iran and the USA and should be considered a prisoner of conscience, Amnesty International said today as it called for Saberi’s immediate and unconditional release.
“The fact that Roxana Saberi faced a shifting tide of accusations from the time of her arrest until her trial is an indication that the Iranian authorities were looking for any excuse to detain her,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. “There is no reason for holding Roxana Saberi, unless the Iranian authorities can provide convincing evidence that she committed a recognizable criminal offence.”
A few years ago US forces arrested 5 Iranian diplomats in the Kurdish area of Iraq. The Kurdish government demanded their immediate release to no avail. They are still being held and Ahmnadinejad has recently called for their immediate release.
This opens up the possibility of a prisoner swap. The only problem I see is that if we've tortured these diplomats we may not want them to meet the press.
As far as I can tell, the US never released specific information as to what the five supposedly did. It's exactly these type of arrogant maneuvers by US, shrouded in secrecy generally, that make a bad situation worse. Not that it takes much to make IRI 'worse;' still American personnel who commit war crimes should be prosecuted. You can't just kidnap diplomats. Oh, and free Roxana Saberi.
Of course, I'll be surprised if many who regularly post here don't defend the Iranian theocracy as a bastion of democracy, decency, and sanity...t
And I'm really, really curious to see if THIS comment gets posted. Let's see what happens.
She's an Iranian citizen. There's really nothing the US government can do.
Innocent or not--I have no idea, and I feel for anyone in prison not convicted for violent crime or in a manner that is technicall
While a person may be innocent and know that what is perceived is about their actions is a crazy misrepresentation, perhaps they should have taken care to consider where they were and how those actions would be perceived in a foreign country [and Islamic nations are very tricky to begin with, and that's certainly not limited to Iran].
That's not making an excuse for Iran, but to me, when it comes to espionage charges--in this country or anywhere else in the world--the person charged is likely to be convicted and no amount of protest will change the accuser's legal ruling once rendered.
I feel for this young lady, and hope she survives her ordeal, but in a broader sense a bit of universality should be applied at the common sense level, even though such isn't acceptable politically.
Perhaps I'm missing something about the US legal system [which I admittedly have very little faith in], but in my mind I can see an Iranian woman crossing politically charged lines of US government definition, and the outcome being much the same.
Humanity as a whole is, essentially, mentally ill. The horrors we inflict upon one another in the name of invisible superbeings, the suffering we perpetrate on others because of our greed, our hatreds, our delusional thinking--I have hope, but not much, for our sorry species. This young woman will probably be swallowed up into a living hell over...wha
She has a sexy, michievous expression and manner in photos. Perhaps she was spying or not. All reporters are detectives digging for information, hence, spying in Iran's perspective maybe.
The American Embassy they were spies, the Brits kidnapped were in Iranian waters. We need nuclear for a power plant.
Remember in Iranian newspeak American and spy are synonyms
Let's hope diplomatic talks continue to resume with Iran in hopes of getting here out of there swiftly and quickly.
waaaay to cute to be locked up in iran.
I truly hope Iran is not as barbaric with Roxane Saberi as America has been with people they have detained indefinitely without charges and subjected to torture and abuse. I don't know why I should have any hope for this. Among some people absolutely anything can be justified, no matter how outrageous.
Amen
I see a lot of people demanding her release, expressing shock, etc.
What I don't see is one piece of solid, factual evidence or reason as to why she should be. There is not one scrap of evidence that suggests she DIDN'T do what she was accused of. People seem to just be of the belief that because it's Iran that convicted her, that it must all be a sham and she should be set free. I mean really, is it so far fetched to believe that the US enticed this woman to relay information for them? She buys wine illegally, she operates without press credentials--it's obvious she wasn't exactly walking the line with regards to following Iranian law.
The whole "I wanted a do-over on my confession" thing holds no water in my world, either. American citizens retract confessions in American courts all the time. You know what happens? They get convicted. I don't see anybody demanding the release of every convict who tried that tactic in the past.
I tell ya where you should be swinging from....
Here's one: The US government said - as the would-be recipient of said information - that she wasn't.
.
wow...
So, whatever happened to the presumption of innocence? The accused doesn't have to prove his/her innocence in our system of justice. Rather, the burden of proof is on the prosecution, which has to collect and present enough compelling evidence to convince the judge and jury, who are restrained and ordered by law to consider only actual evidence and testimony that is legally admissible, and in most cases lawfully obtained, that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In case of remaining doubts, the accused is to be acquitted. This presumption is seen to stem from the Latin legal principle that ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat (the burden of proof rests on who asserts, not on who denies). Oh! Silly me! I forgot. We're talking about the Iranian criminal justice system, where the opposite appears to be true. The evidence of her proclivity to crime you provided: "She buys wine illegally, she operates without press credentials--it's obvious she wasn't exactly walking the line with regards to following Iranian law" is compelling evidence that she wasn't a spy. A spy on Uncle Sam's payroll would make sure their cover was above suspicion--and not do anything to attract the attention of the authorities, no?
"The accused doesn't have to prove his/her innocence in our system of justice."
First, I'm not arguing that this young lady should be in an Iranian prison; however, in reference to our system of INjustice, I think your assertion is a bit naive, and without a doubt removed from any firsthand experience.
In this country, if you are accused of a serious crimed you'd damn well better have the funds to pay for a top-notch defense effort, as the public defenders are primarily there to see that you cut a deal and are moved through the system swiftly.
I realize that doesn't play well in this discussion, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation that people in this country face every day; such is a primary factor in keeping our privatized prisons running at capacity.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
You compare apples to oranges.
You have seen no evidence of Saberi's guilt, yet you assume she's employing a "tactic."
But you do know she was tried in a day, in secret. Hello?
Iran has a leader who denies the Holocaust and says there are no homosexuals in his country.
So much for truth, in Iran!
Yes, and those are reasons she didn't do it. Riiiiight.
Hey, maybe B.O. & Janeane Garofalo could just sit down and talk to Iran? I'm sure AHMADINEJAD will find her jokes to be funny and B.O. can give him a few CD's like E.T. or the Notebook.
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