American journalist jailed for 8 years
Iran court's decision to jail a US journalist will further strain relations between countries
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Saturday, 18, Apr 2009 04:16
An Iranian court has sentenced a US journalist to eight years imprisonment for spying.
Roxana Saberi, 31, who worked as a freelance reporter for the BBC and America's National Public Radio, was convicted of spying in a trial that lasted just five days and was conducted behind closed doors.
Ms Saberi was arrested in January initially for not carrying the correct press credentials but was then accused of passing information to US intelligence services.
The US government denies this and has called the accusations "baseless". Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has called for her release.
Her lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, said: "She has been sentenced to eight years ... I will appeal."
Ms Saberi, who has a Japanese mother and an Iranian father, went to Iran six years ago to complete a master's degree on Iranian studies and international relations.
"Roxana Saberi's trial lacked transparency and we are concerned that she may not have been treated fairly," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
"We call on the Iranian authorities to release her on bail pending her appeal."
More than 10,000 people worldwide have signed a CPJ petition urging that Saberi receive due process and be released as quickly as possible.