Roxana Saberi is an American journalist, in Iran, charged with espionage.
It's an open-and-shut case, as far as I can tell. She's been going around asking questions and taking notes. Spies ask questions and take notes. The verdict is due soon - two guesses what it'll be, and the first one doesn't count.
Looks like the Islamic Republic of Iran will show the world what Islam and Islamic justice is all about in the near future. The Ayatollah's notion of what 'real' Islam is, anyway.
Roxana Saberi - North Dakotan
This case is a bit more personal for me, since I grew up on the North Dakota/Minnesota border, in the Red River Valley of the North. Roxana Saberi grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. (For what it's worth, her father's Iranian, her mother Japanese. I'm interested in where people's ancestors come from - but I'm not as bothered by 'those foreigners' as some Real Americans seem to be.)It's quite likely that Roxana Saberi will be convicted of espionage - or anything else that the Iranian bosses like.
The American government has demanded her release. A mouthpiece for Iran's judiciary called the demand "ridiculous and against international laws." (LAT blog)
My sympathy is with Roxana Saberi, her parents, Reza and Akiko, and everybody who has to deal with Iran and it's masters.
More-or-less related posts:
- "Iran Has Heavy Metal for Bomb, No Bomb: Yet"
(March 1, 2009) - "Marine One Plans in Tehran - File Sharing Software and Sloppiness"
(March 1, 2009) - "Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, Dead Armenians, and Learning from Mistakes"
(February 28, 2009) - " 'Towelhead,' 'Retard,' and Talking Sense in a Global Society"
(February 24, 2009) - "Islam in the Information Age: Afghan Journalist Charged with Blasphemy"
(July 30, 2008) - "Committee to Protect Journalists Unveils the Impunity Index"
(April 30, 2008)
- "What Iran Says by Jailing Journalist"
The Wall Street Journal (April 14, 2009) - "IRAN: Official says verdict due in spy trial of journalist Saberi"
Babylon & Beyond / Observations from Iraq, Iran, Israel, the Arab World & Beyond blog, Los Angeles Times (April 14, 2009) - "Iran says US journalist tried behind closed doors"
The Associated Press (April 14, 2009)
Sounds like it's time for a MacGyver style jail break.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, that's pretty nasty. Somebody get that lady out of there!
Brigid,
ReplyDelete'If wishes were horses.' - I feel the same way, but there are serious difficulties, logistically.
The Carter administration tried a rescue during the hostage crisis - massive loss of life when the well-intentioned conglomeration of military units ran into each other on the way.
I'm not blaming the soldiers: they were doing their job. Those from-the-top orders, on the other hand - never mind.
Then along came that actor fellow, who, as a candidate, joked about nuking Tehran as a solution (he'd been asked by someone in a scrum of reporters how he'd solve the complex Iranian hostage crisis). The Ayatollahs didn't wait to find out whether or not he was joking, and released the hostages rather promptly after the election.