US journalist jailed in Iran for spying

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-18 20:52

TEHRAN - An American-Iranian journalist detained in Iran has been sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of spying for the United States, her lawyer said on Saturday, five days after she was put on trial.

Iran's judiciary earlier this week said Saberi went on trial on Monday at a Revolutionary Court, which handles state security issues.

"She has been sentenced to eight years ... I will appeal," lawyer Abdolsamad Khorramshahi said.

The United States has called the charges against Saberi, a freelance reporter who has worked for the BBC and National Public Radio, "baseless and without foundation" and demanded her immediate release.

Saberi, 31, is a citizen of both the United States and Iran but Tehran does not recognize dual nationality.

File photo of US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi posing for a photograph in Tehran April 10, 2004. [Agencies]

The judiciary was not available for comment on Saturday.

Her case coincides with speculation of a possible thaw in US-Iranian ties after US President Barack Obama offered a new beginning of engagement if Tehran "unclenches its fist."

Under Iran's penal code, espionage can carry the death penalty. The Islamic Republic last year executed an Iranian businessman convicted of spying on the military for Israel.

Saberi, who was born in the United States, was arrested in January for working after her press credentials had expired.

Miss North Dakota

Her parents visited her in Tehran's Evin jail on April 6, after arriving from the United States.

According to a website set up to campaign for her release, freeroxana.net, Saberi is of Iranian and Japanese descent and moved to Iran six years ago.

She grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, and holds Masters Degrees in Journalism and International Relations. She was chosen Miss North Dakota in 1997, the website says.

Washington cut ties with Iran in 1979 but Obama's administration has offered talks with Iran to try and solve a row over Tehran's nuclear plans.

Iran says it wants to see a real switch in Washington's policies away from those of former President George W. Bush, who led a drive to isolate the country because of nuclear work the West suspects has military aims, a charge Iran denies.

File photo of US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi posing for a photograph in Bam, 1,250 km (776 miles) southeast of Tehran March 31, 2004. [Agencies]

On Thursday, the US State Department said Tehran had formally informed Washington via Swiss interlocutors that Saberi had been put on trial.

US State Department spokesman Robert Wood raised questions about the transparency of Iran's judicial system.

Switzerland represents US interests in Iran as Tehran and Washington do not have diplomatic ties. Wood said a Swiss representative was not in the courtroom during Saberi's trial.