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• American journalist Roxana Saberi was sentenced to eight years in prison, in Iran, on an espionage charge. Saberi, who has reported for NPR, BBC and FOX News, was arrested on January 31, 2009, and accused of spying for the U.S. Government. She was sentenced on April 18, 2009. Saberi was released from prison on May 11, 2009 after four months in jail.Voice of America: Iran Sentences US Reporter to 8 Years... (April 18, 2009)

  In her first interview since being released from an Iranian prison, Roxana Saberi talked with Melissa Block of NPR. In the interview, which aired on May 28, 2009, Saberi talks about why she gave a false confession, lies told by Iranian authorities on why she was arrested and threats made by her interrogators.NPR: Roxana Saberi On Her Imprisonment In Iran (May 28, 2009)

• Fast Facts

  1. Age: 31 at the time of her arrest
  2. Graduated from North High School in Fargo, North DakotaFargo North High School: Hall of Fame: 2007 Inductees: Roxana Saberi
  3. Majored in French and Communication at Concordia College in MinnesotaFargo North High School: Hall of Fame: 2007 Inductees: Roxana Saberi
  4. Master's degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern UniversityFargo North High School: Hall of Fame: 2007 Inductees: Roxana Saberi
  5. Master's degree in international relations from Cambridge University in EnglandFargo North High School: Hall of Fame: 2007 Inductees: Roxana Saberi
  6. Was Miss North Dakota in 1997Fargo North High School: Hall of Fame: 2007 Inductees: Roxana Saberi
  7. Top Ten Finalist at the Miss America competitionFargo North High School: Hall of Fame: 2007 Inductees: Roxana Saberi
  8. An American citizen who also has an Iranian passportFOXNews.com: American Freelance Journalist Detained in Iran, Father Says (March 1, 2009)
  9. Saberi's father is from IranFOXNews.com: American Freelance Journalist Detained in Iran, Father Says (March 1, 2009)
  10. Called her father on February 10, 2009, saying she had been arrested on January 31FOXNews.com: American Freelance Journalist Detained in Iran, Father Says (March 1, 2009)
  11. Did not tell her family why she had been arrestedFOXNews.com: American Freelance Journalist Detained in Iran, Father Says (March 1, 2009)
  12. Moved to Iran approximately six years before the arrestFOXNews.com: American Freelance Journalist Detained in Iran, Father Says (March 1, 2009)
  13. Press credentials had been revoked and no longer worked as a journalistFOXNews.com: American Freelance Journalist Detained in Iran, Father Says (March 1, 2009)
  14. According to Iranian officials, Saberi confessed to espionage - a statement her father believes she was coerced into making.
  15. Saberi's lawyer has twenty days, from the day of sentencing, to appeal her case.CNN: Father: U.S. journalist holding up ... (April 19, 2009)
  16. Care2 petition site is trying to obtain 25,000 signatures on a petition for her releaseCare2 Petition Site: Free Roxana Saberi

• Background

  Saberi had moved to Iran sometime around 2003 and was reportedly writing a book about the country at the time of her arrest. She is a former Miss North Dakota and has worked as a journalist for FOX News, the BBC and NPR.FOXNews.com: American Freelance Journalist Detained in Iran, Father Says (March 1, 2009)

• Espionage Charges

  On April 8, 2009, the Iranian media reported that Saberi was been charged with espionage. Hillary Clinton has called for her release and Barack Obama has extended offers for improved diplomatic ties with Iran.

  Saberi's parents arrived in Iran on April 5, 2009, and were allowed to visit their daughter for only 20 minutes on Monday April 6, 2009.FOX: Iran Charges Detained American Reporter With Espionage(April 8, 2009)

• Arrest

  On February 10, 2009, Saberi called her parents and said she had been arrested on January 31, 2009. She didn't elaborate but said she would be released in two or three days. Her father told FOX News that Saberi told him "she had bought a bottle of wine and the person that sold it had reported it and then they came and arrested her." She told him not to tell anyone about the incident.FOXNews.com: American Freelance Journalist Detained in Iran, Father Says (March 1, 2009)

• Hunger Strike

  On April 25, 2009, Saberi's father, Reza Saberi, told Reuters that his daughter began a hunger strike on April 20, 2009. BBC News: Saberi "On Hunger Strike" in Iran (April 24, 2009) The group Reporters Without Borders, who went on hunger strike in solidarity with Saberi, said that Saberi, who is reportedly very weak, was briefly hospitalized on May 1, 2009, but released after drinking water.Taiwan News: Journalist Group: US Reporter Hospitalized in Iran (May 4, 2009)Reporters Without Borders: Campaign Continues...Solidarity for Roxana Saberi (May 3, 2009)

  On Monday May 4, 2009, Saberi ended a two-week-long hunger strike, which she began in protest to her incarceration in Tehran's Evin prison. Ali Reza Jamshidi, a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, denied the claims stating Saberi was in "complete health and not on hunger strike."BBC: Saberi Ends Hunger Strike...(May 6, 2009)

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  Iran | Fox News Channel | NPR | BBC

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