Tag Archives: Roxana Saberi

Roxana Saberi goes free

Freelance journalist Roxana Saberi was freed by Iran today. Her sentence was suspended, but the espionage charges still stand. She cannot work in Iran for the next five years, but can leave the country.

Ms. Saberi’s arrest had become a thorny issue between U.S. and Iran. The two nations have no diplomatic ties, but have engaged in talks to improve relations and have held high-level meetings on Afghanistan. According to Mr. Khorramshahi, the judges explicitly stated in their verdict that Ms. Saberi could be released because “there was no animosity between Iran and the United States.”

Asian women journalists, beware

Is there really so many Asian American women as journalists that three of them are being held in hostile countries for espionage? It is disturbing to me that three women of Asian descent — including Roxana Saberi, who is half Japanese and half Iranian — are being held in hostile countries on trumped up charges. Is Hillary Clinton the only U.S. official who will speak up for them?

The three of them have been on my heart lately. I can’t imagine the fear they are feeling, the worry their families are experiencing. I can only imagine the admonishment their moms will give them when, God willing, they return, especially since I’m sure all three of them were urged to go into safer professions like medicine, law or some sort of computer or engineering work instead.

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