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Monday, April 6, 2009

Roxana Saberi Visited by Parents

BBC reported today that the parents of the US free-lance journalist Roxana Saberi have visited their daughter today at Tehran’s Evin prison. Saberi, born to an Iranian father and a Japanese mother, was living in Iran for six years when arrested last January. The government has said she was working in Iran as a journalist without a valid work permit.

A score of human rights and press organizations have called for her immediate release. Reporting from Iran for the NPR, BBC and other news organizations, Saberi always fileded highly informative and well-written stories on major developments in the country. We are all hoping for her early release and safe return home.

UPDATE: Saberi was reportedly charged with "espionage" on Wednesday 8 April. The government did not give any details about the new charge.

2 comments:

  1. Reporting from Iran for the NPR, BBC and other news organizations,
    By other news organisations you mean the bastion of free speech FOX NEWS. most journilist working for FOX News are indebted to the Zionist cause, how else would you get a job at Murdoch's papers before pledging absolute loyality to the zionist cause?

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  2. Dear Anon,

    It’s been the normal practice of the governments in Iran to put labels on the journalists whose reporting was not liked by the people in power, and put them in jail. During the shah’s time, the label used was “Communist.” Nowadays the label used is “Zionist.” I would have defended Roxana Saberi regardless if I agreed or disagreed with the NPR, BBC or the Fox News.

    You and I are bloggers. I wrote this piece, and you posted your comments. Imagine if a government did not like my post or your comments and used labels against us and put us in jail, without charging us with any serious crime or without offering any proof. We would have expected everyone to defend our rights, no matter if they agreed with my post or your comments. Freedom of press is not a slogan, is a basic right we need to defend.

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