Results matching “saberi”

Exciting bit from my publisher's news this morning:

The Iranian-American journalist who was sentenced in April, 2009 to eight years in Iranian prison and freed on appeal in May following broad based international pressure, Roxana Saberi's account of her six years in Iran, her imprisonment, her trial, and her ultimate release, providing a look at Iranian society and culture, and the political tensions which have sparked debate across the globe, to Harper for publication in March, 2010.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling

As you may have heard by now, two American journalists with CurrentTV, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were just sentenced to 12 years in a North Korean labor camp. They were found guilty of unspecified "grave crimes" and "hostile acts" -- which really just means they were muckraking journalists who dared to cross into North Korea.

Washington's former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson called the sentencing part of "a high-stakes poker game" being played by North Korea. He said on NBC's Today show that he thinks negotiations for their "humanitarian release" can begin now that the legal process has been completed. Other South Korean analysts also said they expect the two to be freed following negotiations.

But we should still keep the pressure on. Click here to sign the petition for their release. There are more action suggestions here. Join the Facebook group. And for regular updates, follow LiberateLaura on Twitter. AngryAsianMan also suggests "emailing the State Department at secretary@state.gov demanding they step up negotiations with North Korea."

Using journalists as political pawns and bargaining chips is unfortunately nothing new. Roxana Saberi's case made headlines recently. But this is not only a tactic used by Iran and North Korea. The United States -- yes, the very U.S. that claims to honor freedom of the press and human rights -- is holding an Iraqi journalist named Ibrahim Jassam. He hasn't been charged. An Iraqi court ordered he be released. And yet he remains in U.S. military custody. This is by NO means a suggestion that it's "fair" for North Korea to hold two American journalists. But it's hard for America to have credibility on this issue. Those of us who push for Ling and Lee's release need to expect the same standards of our own government. (See more at the Committee to Protect Journalists.)

Interestingly, Nerdette encountered a lot of push-back when she tried to get folks to sign the petition and take action for Ling and Lee. She writes,

I know that this petition will not directly sway the North Korean government. That doesn't mean its not a meaningful act. That's not why I'm trying to get people to sign it. The point is to keep the energy, the noise and the interest at as heightened a level as we can... so that maybe the media will pay attention to what's going with Laura and Euna... As we come together - online or even off (there was a vigil for Laura and Euna last week) - we are building capacity. Yes, none of us are diplomats, but that doesn't mean we don't have an opinion. Moreover, why would anyone want to silence that? Isn't that the problem with North Korea? That they censure their people? Even if you think the petition is dumb, futile or pointless, luckily the internet is so vast there is space for me and 13,000 other people to publicly declare that we want Euna and Laura to come home. The idea that someone would tell me "don't try, you look ridiculous" just makes me more committed to becoming even noisier.

Those are wise words for any action campaign. Even if it doesn't achieve the desired result, the very act of collectively standing up and saying that we are watching, that we will defend human rights, that we value the right to free speech and fair trials, that, in and of itself, is valuable and important. 

More on Euna Lee and Laura Ling from Matt Yglesias, Jezebel, and Latoya Peterson.

Roxana Saberi, the American journalist who was being held in Iran until being released suddenly and recently, just did her first full length interview with Melissa Block at NPR.

Journalist Roxana Saberi, who spent four months in an Iranian prison, returned to the United States on May 22. Until now, she has not spoken to the media at length about her ordeal, during which she says she faced "severe psychological and mental pressure" to confess to being a spy.

In her first in-depth interview, Saberi tells NPR about the events that led to her arrest on Jan. 31, her four months in a Tehran prison, why she gave a false confession, and her take on evidence that was used against her that resulted in a speedy trial on April 13. Saberi, who lived in Iran for six years and reported for NPR among other news organizations, was sentenced to eight years in prison by an Iranian court.

In a turn of events, Saberi was freed May 11 after her sentence was reduced to a suspended two-year term. She tells NPR that to this day she doesn't know why she was arrested -- or why she was freed.

You can listen to the interview here.

On a related note, two journalists are also being held in North Korea, Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Their trial begins June 4th and there will be vigils around the country on June 3rd. More information here.

Via MSNBC:

A lawyer for a U.S. journalist jailed in Iran says she has been freed from prison after an appeals court suspended her eight-year jail sentence.

Abdolsamad Khorramshahi says Roxana Saberi is "now out of jail."

She was freed after an Iranian appeals court cut her eight-year jail sentence for spying to a suspended two-year term.

The development came a day after an appeals court held a hearing on the case of Saberi, a 32-year-old journalist who has worked for the BBC and U.S. National Public Radio.

You can background on Roxana Saberi's case here and here.

Journalist Roxana Saberi, 31, was convicted of espionage in Iran last week after a one-day trial behind closed doors and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Saberi is a freelance journalist who has lived in Iran for six years and was raised by an Iranian father. From the Huffington Post:

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting journalists and suppressing freedom of speech. The government has arrested several Iranian-Americans in the past few years, citing alleged attempts to overthrow its Islamic regime. The most high-profile case came in 2007, when Iran arrested four Iranian-Americans, including the academic Haleh Esfandiari. The four were imprisoned or had their passports confiscated for several months until they were released and allowed to return to the U.S.

Last night at Colgate University, Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi, read a letter in support of Saberi, who served as his translator. An excerpt:

Roxana wanted to leave Iran. I kept her from it. She is the one who took care of me while I was depressed. Then I convinced her to stay, I wanted her to write the book she had started in her head. I accompanied her, and thanks to my friends and contacts, I knocked on every door and was able to set up meetings with film makers, artists, sociologists, politics, and others. I would go with her myself. She was absorbed by her book, to the point that she could stay and bear it all, until my film would be finished, and we would leave together.

Roxana's book was a praise to Iran. The manuscripts exist, and it will certainly be published one day, and all will see it. But why have they said nothing? All those who have talked, worked and sat with her, and who know how guiltless she is.

I am writing this letter for I am worried about her. I am worried about her health. I heard she was depressed and cried all the time. She is very sensitive. To the point she refuses to touch her food. My letter is a desperate call to all statesmen and politics, and to all those who can do something to help.

The full text of Ghobadi's letter is after the jump.

Check out the Free Roxana site to take action.

And more on Roxana at BBC News.

Thanks to Cornelia for pushing us to get on the ball and June Cross for news of the Ghobadi letter.