Iranian court 'frees US journalist'
A court in Iran has cut the prison sentence handed to a US journalist
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Monday, 11, May 2009 05:28
A court in Iran has cut the prison sentence handed to a US journalist to a two-year suspended term, her lawyer has claimed.
Roxana Saberi, who worked as a freelance reporter for the BBC and America's National Public Radio, was convicted of spying in a trial conducted behind closed doors last month.
The 31-year-old was arrested in January initially for not carrying the correct press credentials but was then accused of passing information to US intelligence services.
US authorities, including secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and humanitarian groups had previously called for her release.
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.
Amnesty International welcomed the news this afternoon.
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, the group's deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa region, said: "We are delighted that justice has been served by the appeal process and that Roxana Saberi is due to be released from prison in Tehran today. She should, however, never have been imprisoned in the first place."