Jailed US-Iranian reporter on hunger strike – father

TEHRAN (Reuters) – A US-Iranian reporter jailed  by Tehran for espionage has gone on hunger strike and says she  will not stop until she is released, her father said yesterday.

Reza Saberi said his daughter Roxana, 31, had called from  prison to say she was on her fifth day of refusing food.

“She’s not eating anything. I’m very worried,” he told  Reuters. Judging by her voice over the telephone, she seems to  be weak.”

The freelance journalist was sentenced to eight years in  jail on April 18 on charges of spying for the United States, in a verdict that could complicate Washington’s efforts towards  reconciliation with Iran after three decades of mutual mistrust.

The United States has called the charges against Saberi  baseless and demanded her immediate release.

Her defence lawyer said he had appealed the sentence and  expressed hope she would be acquitted, but he also voiced  concern about her health following news of the hunger strike.

“I’m opposed to such an act since her health does not allow  for that, as she is physically very weak,” Abdolsamad  Khorramshahi told Reuters.

Last Tuesday, Reza Saberi said he believed she would starve  herself to death if the verdict was upheld by an appeal court.

He said she shared a cell in Tehran’s Evin jail with two  other female prisoners and was “not in a bad condition.” But she  was physically frail and seemed “desperate to get out of there.”

A citizen of both the United States and Iran, Saberi was  arrested in late January for working in the Islamic Republic  after her press credentials had expired. She was later charged  with espionage.

US President Barack Obama has expressed deep concern for  her safety and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said  releasing Saberi, who has worked for the BBC and US National  Public Radio, would serve as a goodwill gesture.

Tehran, which does not recognise dual nationality, says  Washington should respect the independence of Iran’s judiciary.

But in a statement welcomed by her lawyer, President Mahmoud  Ahmadinejad last Sunday called on Tehran’s prosecutor to ensure  that Saberi enjoys full legal rights to defend herself.

The judiciary chief has said her appeal must be dealt with “in a careful, quick and fair way.”

Lawyer Khorramshahi said the case would go to an appeal  court in the next few days.

“I prepared a detailed bill last week and raised all legal  issues in support of my client and the appeal bill was submitted  today,” Khorramshahi said. “I am hoping the circumstances for  Roxana’s release will be brought about.”

Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based media rights  group, has called Saberi’s conviction “unjust under the Iranian  criminal code,” saying it was a warning to foreign reporters  working in Iran before its presidential election in June.

Amnesty International said she was a “pawn to the ongoing  political developments” between Iran and the United States.