In January 2009, Iranian police arrested American journalist, Roxana Saberi. According to Roxana’s father Reza Saberi, his daughter believes that police arrested her because she purchased a bottle of wine on the black market one year ago - although Amnesty International recently reported that the government is detaining Roxana for "illegally gathering news."
Roxana has dual citizenship in the United States and Iran. She is a former Miss North Dakota 1997, who was pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Public Relations in Tehran. Roxana last contacted her parents on February 10, 2009 and her parents stated that, "It sounds like she’s under great pressure." Her father is nervous about his daughter’s mental state and is scared that she might commit suicide via hunger strike if she remains in detention. In an Associated Press article, Mr. Saberi said, "I think if they tell her she will be there for months, she will try to kill herself."
Her parents plan to go visit her in Iran in the next couple of days.
Human Rights Watch weighed in on this urgent matter:
"Iran is violating its own laws and international laws to which it is a signatory by detaining Saberi without charge, and - until the case received international attention - without access to a lawyer or her family."
Roxana Saberi reported for National Public Radio, BBC, and FOX. (I know, I know, it's Faux News!) Here is a report on Fox News about Roxana’s story and an interview with her father:
On a personal level, Roxana and I have a mutual friend whom sent me this description of Roxana:
"I attended Northwestern University with Roxana in 1998. She was on my soccer team along with a big group of international law students. She is a former Miss North Dakota, a classical pianist, and a courageous journalist. I currently serve on the Northwestern Union Public Interest Alumni Board with Roxana. She is our Communications Chair.
We must do all we can to publicly support Roxana and work to persuade Iranian officials to release her. We need you to call your Congressional Representatives, pass resolutions within your organizations, urge your state legislature to pass a resolution, and continue to educate and alert the public about this issue. The North Dakota Congressional Delegation is actively working on this issue. We need to build more national and international support for Saberi's release."
I agree with my friend. Amnesty International provides us a guide to contacting Iranian officials; here is what you can do to help Roxana:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/...
Join Roxana Saberi’s facebook groups:
Free Roxana Saberi
http://www.facebook.com/...
Friends of Roxana Saberi
http://www.facebook.com/...
Release and return journalist Roxana Saberi from IR custody
http://www.facebook.com/...
There are over 10,000 signatures on her cause page;
http://apps.facebook.com/...
For more information about Roxana’s case, please check out http://freeroxana.net/
I know that there was a diary on this topic earlier (h/t to the diarist) but this issue is of great importance. We have to keep this story alive for Roxana and other political prisoners worldwide.