Iran leader intervenes over spy case

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-20 09:40

TEHRAN -- Iran's president said Sunday that an American journalist convicted of spying for the US should be allowed to offer a full defense during her appeal, a day after she was sentenced to eight years in prison.

The message was a sign that Iran's leadership does not want the case to derail moves toward a dialogue with the Obama administration to break a 30-year diplomatic deadlock.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to Tehran's chief prosecutor instructing him to personally ensure that "suspects be given all their rights to defend themselves" against the charges. "Prepare for the court proceedings ... to observe and apply justice precisely," the news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.

This undated file photo provided, March 3, 2009 by the National Press Photographers Association shows US journalist Roxana Saberi. [Agencies]

The letter came a day after Iran announced the conviction and sentence for Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen who was born in the US and grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. It was the first time Iran has found an American journalist guilty of espionage, and her lawyer said he'll appeal.

US President Barack Obama said Sunday he was "gravely concerned" about Saberi's safety and well-being and was confident she wasn't involved in espionage. The US has called the charges baseless and said Iran would gain US goodwill if it "responded in a positive way" to the case.

"She is an Iranian-American who was interested in the country which her family came from. And it is appropriate for her to be treated as such and to be released," Obama said.

Saberi's case has been an irritant in US-Iran relations at a time when Obama is offering to start a dialogue between the longtime adversaries. A few days before her sentence was announced, Ahmadinejad gave the clearest signal yet that Iran, too, was ready for a new relationship with the US

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