Iran: friends' fears grow for Roxana Saberi

Friends of Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist imprisoned in Tehran, are getting increasingly worried. She’s now been charged with spying – the classic allegation made by paranoid governments against foreign reporters.

Today, I spoke to Henry Newman, a friend who studied with her at the Dehkhoda Institute at the University of Tehran in 2003.

“It’s horrific for her and her family,” he said. “Being a dual national in Iran is uniquely difficult, because Iran claims not to recognise dual nationality and treats American-Iranians as Iranians. Yet there’s always that suspicion of espionage or working for the Americans.”

Roxana, he said, was well aware of the delicacy of her situation but such was her determination to be a journalist, and her love of Iran, she was undeterred by the risk.

“For Roxana, her interest in Iran was finding out more about her family and personal history, but also she has a deep appreciation of the history, the culture, the literature and the language, and the culture, ancient and modern.

“She’d invested a great number of years studying Iran and getting to know the country,” he said.

The judge says the verdict will be issued in two or three weeks. We can only hope that Roxana will be “pardoned” in some gesture or deal with the Americans. Her parents, Reza and Akiko, travelled to Tehran and managed to see her in Evin prison last week.

Reza says he’ll stay until his daughter is released. May it be soon.

– UPDATE: video report including some of the interview with Henry Newman:

More information at the Free Roxana campaign site.

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