Iran frees U.S.-born journalist accused of spying

[Niels Bohr 72]

Mon May 11, 2009 9:44pm EDT By Fredrik Dahl and Hossein Jaseb

TEHRAN (Reuters) - U.S.-born journalist Roxana Saberi walked free on Monday after an Iranian appeal court cut her eight-year jail sentence for spying to a suspended two-year term.

Her release resolved a case that had added to strains on U.S.-Iranian relations, at a time when U.S. President Barack Obama is seeking to reach out to Tehran after three decades of mutual mistrust.

Obama welcomed as a "humanitarian gesture" Iran's move to free the 32-year-old freelance reporter after more than three months in detention.

"He was relieved to see that Roxana Saberi has been released," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told a news conference in Washington.

"We want to continue to stress that she was wrongly accused, but we welcome this humanitarian gesture," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saberi, who moved to Iran six years ago, would return to the United States in coming days.

Saberi, a citizen of both the United States and Iran, was arrested in January for working in the Islamic Republic after her press credentials had expired.

She was later accused of spying for the United States, a charge that can carry the death sentence, and convicted on April 18.

The United States had said the spying charges were baseless and demanded her immediate release. Tehran does not recognize dual nationality and told Washington not to interfere.

The two countries were already locked in an acrimonious dispute over Iran's nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at making arms. Iran says it is to generate electricity.

Obama has offered Iran a fresh start in relations, though Iran says Washington must first show real policy change.

Analysts and diplomats have cautioned against seeing Saberi's conviction as a sign that Iran is rejecting Obama's overture, but say her case may have been influenced by it.

"ISLAMIC KINDNESS"

Saberi was released from Tehran's Evin jail, where rights groups say political prisoners are usually held, one day after a closed appeal court hearing.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had said her sentence would be reviewed on the basis of "human and Islamic kindness."

"I'm very satisfied and happy about the ruling. We expected her to be freed but not this soon," said her father Reza, 68, who moved to the United States in the early 1970s.

"Roxana is well and is staying at a relative's home tonight ... The exact date of our departure is not clear but we should get ready for our trip to America," he told reporters.

One of Saberi's defense lawyers, Saleh Nikbakht, told the ISNA news agency the court had acquitted her of spying but convicted her under a law covering offences including taking pictures or videos in areas where photography is banned.

She will be banned from doing any reporting work in Iran for five years, said her main lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi.

Judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi told state television that Saberi, who has worked for the BBC and U.S. National Public Radio, had confessed and apologized. "So the court reduced the sentence ... since it was her first offence."

Saberi, a former Miss North Dakota, looked thin and tired at Sunday's hearing. Last week, her father said she had ended a two-week hunger strike and was "very weak." The judiciary denied she had refused food, and said she was in good health.

Reporters Without Borders, which last month said Saberi's conviction was a warning to foreign journalists in Iran ahead of its presidential election in June, welcomed her release.

"The appeal court's decision to free her can be used as a legal precedent for other journalists currently detained in Iran," the Paris-based media watchdog said. It said 14 journalists and bloggers were in detention.

Iran denies Western allegations that it is trying to stifle dissent. The government says it welcomes constructive criticism and upholds the principle of free speech.

(Additional reporting by Hashem Kalantari, Parisa Hafezi and Firouz Sedarat in Tehran, Deborah Charles in Washington; editing by Tim Pearce)

[William33 110]

Political pressure works, if approprietly applied.

[childress_london 3]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html

Technically, you can have dual citizenship.

a little from the site above:

However, dual nationals owe allegiance to both the United States and the foreign country. They are required to obey the laws of both countries. Either country has the right to enforce its laws, particularly if the person later travels there. Most U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. Dual nationals may also be required by the foreign country to use its passport to enter and leave that country. Use of the foreign passport does not endanger U.S. citizenship.Most countries permit a person to renounce or otherwise lose citizenship.

Edited May 12, 2009 by childress_london

[Niels Bohr 72]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html

Technically, you can have dual citizenship.

a little from the site above:

However, dual nationals owe allegiance to both the United States and the foreign country. They are required to obey the laws of both countries. Either country has the right to enforce its laws, particularly if the person later travels there. Most U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. Dual nationals may also be required by the foreign country to use its passport to enter and leave that country. Use of the foreign passport does not endanger U.S. citizenship.Most countries permit a person to renounce or otherwise lose citizenship.

Funny.

I remembered at the citizenship oath ceremony the judge said that you must declare you are citizens of the US on all paperwork, judicial proceedings, and documentation.

[childress_london 3]

Perhaps that is when becoming a naturalized citizen. However, if you are born a U.S. citizen, you can indeed have two nationalities as in the case of Saberi. She was also an Iranian through her father and I could be Iranian through my husband. Iran is very liberal with their citizenship rules and in some cases they are adamant about them. As stated on the website, it all depends on the rules of the individual countries. My son was born in Spain of US parents and he has both US and Spanish birth certificates. However, my daughter was born in Japan and Japan would not recognize her because the mother has to be Japanese for the child to get the Japanese birth certificate, so she only has the US birth certificate.

However, you say they have to declare they are US citizens on judicial proceedings, etc... Do they say you must renounce your citizenship and do they demand your passport from any other countries? I think this just means you must be a US citizen while in the US but you can return to your original country and be a citizen of that country while there, depending on their laws of course.

Edited May 12, 2009 by childress_london

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Perhaps that is when becoming a naturalized citizen. However, if you are born a U.S. citizen, you can indeed have two nationalities as in the case of Saberi. She was also an Iranian through her father and I could be Iranian through my husband. Iran is very liberal with their citizenship rules and in some cases they are adamant about them. As stated on the website, it all depends on the rules of the individual countries. My son was born in Spain of US parents and he has both US and Spanish birth certificates. However, my daughter was born in Japan and Japan would not recognize her because the mother has to be Japanese for the child to get the Japanese birth certificate, so she only has the US birth certificate.

However, you say they have to declare they are US citizens on judicial proceedings, etc... Do they say you must renounce your citizenship and do they demand your passport from any other countries? I think this just means you must be a US citizen while in the US but you can return to your original country and be a citizen of that country while there, depending on their laws of course.

The two ways that a naturalised US citizen ceases to be citizen of another country:

• if automatic forfeiture (through naturalisation) of full citizenship of other country, then at swear-in (this is the case for citizens of India; OCI is not full citizenship, the holder cannot hold Indian passport or vote in India elections)
• otherwise, by explicit renunciation (as is the case with Canada and UK)

No, USCIS does not demand foreign passport be turned over--but US government does prohibit US citizens from re-entering US on foreign passport (which has ramification of you cannot use foreign passport as ID form in US passport-app).

[childress_london 3]

Yes, according the website, you must use your US passport when leaving and reentering the US, but you may use your foreign passport once outside of the US. However, if you do that, then the US has a difficult time claiming you and protecting you, as in the case of Saberi. Iran was prosecuting her as an Iranian citizen and did not recognize her US citizenship. I'm sure there are others in the same situation, but they didn't get the same amount of press, so they are probably still in Iranian prisons. It is my opinion that Saberi's arrest was a set-up mainly for political purposes, so they could later release her (as they have) to "show" the West how kind and merciful they are. It's very suspicious that this all happened not only after Obama has been elected and extended the olive branch to Iran, but also so close to election time in Iran. It's not like Saberi had just entered Iran. She has been living there for several years. She was the perfect scape goat for their plan.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Yes, according the website, you must use your US passport when leaving and reentering the US, but you may use your foreign passport once outside of the US. However, if you do that, then the US has a difficult time claiming you and protecting you, as in the case of Saberi. Iran was prosecuting her as an Iranian citizen and did not recognize her US citizenship. I'm sure there are others in the same situation, but they didn't get the same amount of press, so they are probably still in Iranian prisons. It is my opinion that Saberi's arrest was a set-up mainly for political purposes, so they could later release her (as they have) to "show" the West how kind and merciful they are. It's very suspicious that this all happened not only after Obama has been elected and extended the olive branch to Iran, but also so close to selection time in Iran. It's not like Saberi had just entered Iran. She has been living there for several years. She was the perfect scape goat for their plan.

Fixxored for accuracy (Iranian election similar to India Presidential--candidate approved by actual ruler, in Iran's case Khamenei, always wins)

[mawilson 2,133]

"ISLAMIC KINDNESS"

This kind?