Lawyer: Saberi trial over a confidential document

[May 12, 2009]  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- A lawyer for an American journalist freed after four months imprisoned in Iran says she obtained a confidential document about the U.S. war in Iraq while working as a translator for a powerful clerical body, and this was used against her in her espionage trial.

Roxana Saberi was freed Monday after an appeals court reduced her original eight-year prison sentence to a two-year suspended sentence.

One of her lawyers, Saleh Nikbakht, says her original conviction came in part because she had copied and kept a "confidential bulletin" issued by a research center connected to the president's office.

He says she did so while working as a freelance translator two years ago for the Expediency Council, a powerful clerical body in Iran's government.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- American journalist Roxana Saberi said Tuesday she is very happy to be free and reunited with her parents and thanked those who helped win her release from an Iranian prison, where she was held for four months on charges of spying for the U.S.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran for the first time since her release Monday, a smiling Saberi said she did not have any specific plans but wanted to spend time with her family. She looked thin but energetic, dressed in a bright blue headscarf, black pants and a black dress.

"I am very happy that I have been released and reunited with my father and mother. I am very grateful to all the people who knew me or didn't know me and helped for my release, "she said in brief remarks outside her home in north Tehran. "I don't have any specific plans for the time being. I want to stay with my parents. "

Her Iranian-born father Reza Saberi also spoke to reporters. He said the family was making plans to return home to the United States but probably would not be ready to leave on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Washington had called the espionage charges against Saberi "baseless" and repeatedly demanded her release. The case was an irritant in U.S.-Iran relations at a time when President Barack Obama was offering to restart a dialogue with Tehran after decades of shunning the country.

But Saberi's release cleared one obstacle to closer contacts. It could also help hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win some domestic political points a month before he faces a re-election challenge from reformers who seek to ease Iran's bitter rivalry with the United States.

Saberi was released after an appeals court reduced her eight-year prison sentence to a two-year suspended sentence.

Iranian judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said Monday the court ordered the reduction as a gesture of "Islamic mercy" because she had cooperated with authorities and had expressed regret.

Saberi has been staying at a friend's house since her release, but returned to her own home Tuesday to speak to reporters.

The release ended an ordeal for Saberi, who was convicted and sentenced in a secret session by a security court. Her father said the trial lasted only 15 minutes and her lawyer was not given time to defend her.

Her parents, who live in Fargo, North Dakota, rushed to Iran to seek her freedom. Recently Saberi held a hunger strike protesting her jailing, but ended it after two weeks when her parents, visiting her in prison, asked her to stop because her health was weakening.

Saberi, who was crowned the 1997 Miss North Dakota, moved to Iran six years ago and had worked as a freelance journalist for several organizations, including NPR and the British Broadcasting Corp.

She was arrested in late January, but it was not known until Feb. 10, when she called her father in Fargo and told him she had been detained. She said it was because she had bought a bottle of wine, which is illegal in Iran but available on the black market. Her parents decided not to publicize the news until early March when their concerns grew because their regular communications with her were cut off.

The next day, Iran's Foreign Ministry acknowledged her arrest, saying she was working in the country illegally because her press credentials were revoked in 2006. But when she was put on trial in mid-April, she was convicted on much harsher charges of spying for the United States.

The conviction and heavy sentence brought strong criticism from the U.S. and other countries at a time when Obama was making overtures to the leadership in Tehran. Iranian leaders have given mixed signals in response, sometimes appearing cold, but at other times expressing optimism over possible talks.

Saberi's arrest, however, was seen by many in the West as a sign that at least some hard-liners in Tehran may be trying to scuttle any overtures.

In the face of U.S. criticism, Ahmadinejad and others sounded a more moderate tone, promising that Saberi's case would get a full review on appeal.

On Sunday, the appeals court convened for five hours, allowing the defense to make its case. Her lawyers emerged saying they were able to defend her and were optimistic her sentence would be reduced.

[Associated Press]

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