Miss North Dakota arrested in Iran

[ReardenSteel]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03012009/news/worldnews/miss_north_dakota_arrested_in_iran_157564.htm

A U.S. journalist has been arrested in Iran, and her father said Sunday she told him in a brief phone call she was detained after buying a bottle of wine.

Roxana Saberi, 31, has not been heard from since her last call on Feb. 10, her father, Reza, told The Associated Press on Sunday.

"We haven't heard anything," he said. The family decided to go public, he said, "because we wanted to get some information."

Officials in Iran have not publicly confirmed the arrest. A duty officer at the U.S. State Department said Sunday officials were looking into an AP request for information on the case.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting journalists and suppressing freedom of speech. The government has arrested several Iranian-Americans in the past few years, citing alleged attempts to overthrow its Islamic regime. The most high-profile case came in 2007, when Iran arrested four Iranian-Americans, including the academic Haleh Esfandiari. The four were imprisoned or had their passports confiscated for several months until they were released and allowed to return to the U.S.

From the BBC....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7919458.stm

Foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said the case was now in the hands of the justice ministry.

"Since 2006 when her press accreditation was revoked, she should not have illegally sought to gather information and news in Iran," he said.

Ms Saberi has also worked for the American public radio network NPR and the TV network Fox News.

Although Ms Saberi has Iranian and US citizenship the Iranian authorities do not recognise dual nationality, and our correspondent says they view many Iranian-Americans with suspicion.

NPR reportedly acknowledged that Ms Saberi's press credentials had been revoked but the authorities had continued to allow her to report short news stories.

Mr Saberi said his daughter had stayed on in Tehran after losing her accreditation to pursue a master's degree and do research for a book.

Personal info on Roxana Saberi:
http://www.fargo.k12.nd.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=19180

Looks like Obama and Clinton's first big foreign policy test. On this count, I wish Obama success!

Prayers for Roxana and her loved ones.

UPDATE:
NPR interviews Roxana's father Reza Saberi.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101315579

[Eupher]

She's starting to look like a professional student. Completed two master's degrees and working on a third. Nothing wrong with education, but hell, why not go ahead and get a Ph.D.?

[ReardenSteel]

Hot Air's Ed Morrissey has a smart breakdown and some other links.
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/03/02/american-reporter-held-incommunicado-in-iran/

Saberi, a former Miss North Dakota, has dual citizenship; her father was born in Iran.  He strongly advised her not to go when Saberi made plans to live and report in his native country, but she insisted that she wanted to report on the stories of everyday Iranian life.  She has been working on a book about Iran and its people since losing her press accreditation, but the New York Post reports that the Iranians have tacitly allowed her to file short news reports on a free-lance basis — at least until last month.

This puts Barack Obama’s “smart power” foreign policy to the test.  If Saberi’s case gets a lot of attention, the State Department will feel the pressure to get her released.  This happened a few times during the Bush administration, which succeeded in all but one case to gain the release of arrested Americans.  The one failure was former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared two years ago after visiting the Iranian island of Kish.  That case has all but dropped off the radar of Americans in the meantime, and the Iranians deny holding Levinson at all.

The Iranians say they will publicly comment on Saberi’s status on Tuesday, which will be this evening in the US.  We’ll see if Obama and Hillary Clinton’s extended hand will have any effect.

Roxana has done work for NPR the BBC and the FOX news channel.

[ReardenSteel]

She's starting to look like a professional student. Completed two master's degrees and working on a third. Nothing wrong with education, but hell, why not go ahead and get a Ph.D.?

She may have needed to be in school in order to be in Iran the last few years. (this is speculation) They do have a pretty terrible record on the treatment of journalist over there. (this is not speculation)

From the Guardian of all places...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/02/iran-us-journalist-arrest

The arrest of foreign journalists is rare in Iran. However, foreign nationals with Iranian parents who work as journalists are subject to extra scrutiny and sometimes harassed. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Iran has the world's sixth-worst record for jailing journalists, and detained or investigated more than 30 in 2008.

[thundley4]

It's just me, but I think that her losing her press accreditation would set her up for charges of spying.

[ReardenSteel]

It's just me, but I think that her losing her press accreditation would set her up for charges of spying.

That could be but they already claim two broken laws by Roxana, "buying wine" and "illegal news gathering". That and the fact that they have allowed her, until recently, to do news reporting as a free lance reporter long after they took her accreditation.
Agence France-Presse
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hZQUwAZRzbCrBWgIxGS24vLTKCXQ

Iran said on Monday that a freelance US journalist with Iranian nationality who is reportedly being detained in the Islamic republic has been gathering news “illegally.”

[ReardenSteel]

Iran and ZAHRA KAZEMI...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/kazemi/

Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died in Iranian custody on July 11, 2003, almost three weeks after she was arrested for taking pictures outside a prison during a student protest in Tehran.

Two days later, Iran's official news agency reported that Kazemi had died in hospital, after suffering a stroke while she was being interrogated. On July 16, 2003, the story changed. Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Iran's vice-president, conceded that Kazemi died as a result of being beaten.

snip

The case stayed under the radar screens of most Canadians until March 31, 2005, and the stunning revelations of Shahram Azam, a former staff physician in Iran's Defence Ministry. He said he examined Kazemi in hospital, four days after her arrest.

Azam said Kazemi showed obvious signs of torture, including:

- Evidence of a very brutal rape.
- A skull fracture, two broken fingers, missing fingernails, a crushed big toe and a broken nose.
- Severe abdominal bruising, swelling behind the head and a bruised shoulder.
- Deep scratches on the neck and evidence of flogging on the legs.

This shows us who and what the government of Iran really is. This is the way of life they fight to protect. These are the people who have Roxana Saberi. These are the torturers that the usual suspects don't often protest in America. That the media rarely report on or mention in passing and soon forget.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Iran, what a great place to stay the f*ck out of.

[Tess Anderson]

OMG, this is terrible. I wouldn't want to be a woman arrested in Iran, even an American one with this sorry ass POTUS we have now. Hope she doesn't turn to be some sort of hostage.

[thundley4]

OMG, this is terrible. I wouldn't want to be a woman arrested in Iran, even an American one with this sorry ass POTUS we have now. Hope she doesn't turn to be some sort of hostage.

She'll be lucky if she's made a hostage and not an example.

[The Village Idiot]

She'll be lucky if she's made a hostage and not an example.

is she a leftist?? will she be buried up to her neck and have stones thrown at her head until she is dead??

[Airwolf]

Hard to say but the people in charge have a bad track record with how they handle Americans let alone women.

[Mr Mannn]

This is a Darwin situation. this woman of Iranian/American ancestry KNOWINGLY went into a dangerous situation-even after being warned by her father who fled Iran.
She persisted in behavior that antagonized the crazy homicidal rulers of the place, and ignored every warning sign that these same crazy homicidal rulers had lost their patience.

If you willingly walk into the lion's den. Do not act surprised when you face lethal consequences.

As much as my instincts want to sympathize for a woman in danger...this chick brought it upon herself. 

[The Village Idiot]

Hard to say but the people in charge have a bad track record with how they handle Americans let alone women.

Iranian wine. Mrs Obama's favorites along with 2 lobsters at 4pm tea

[JohnnyReb]

Iranian wine. Mrs Obama's favorites along with 2 lobsters at 4pm tea

I thought it was Iranian caviar.

But then that was they were eating on the cheap.......$440 afternoon snackes.

[The Village Idiot]

I thought it was Iranian caviar.

But then that was they were eating on the cheap.......$440 afternoon snackes.

It might have been, it was off the top of my head.

[ReardenSteel]

This is a Darwin situation. this woman of Iranian/American ancestry KNOWINGLY went into a dangerous situation-even after being warned by her father who fled Iran.
She persisted in behavior that antagonized the crazy homicidal rulers of the place, and ignored every warning sign that these same crazy homicidal rulers had lost their patience.

If you willingly walk into the lion's den. Do not act surprised when you face lethal consequences.

As much as my instincts want to sympathize for a woman in danger...this chick brought it upon herself. 

**** that just get her home. Don't care if she is a "leftie" or a fool (and don't know the validity of either) she's an American falsly charged by a barbaric basketcase backwardsassed "country".


Latest info I could find...
U.S. Asks Iran For Clarity On Status Of Detained Journalist
http://www.rferl.org/Content/US_Asks_Iran_For_Clarity_On_Status_Of_Detained_Journalist/1503977.html

"We continue to request assistance from the Iranian government in identifying Ms. Saberi's whereabouts," State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid told reporters on March 3. "We are working with the Swiss Embassy in Tehran to seek additional information."

The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Iran.

"If Ms. Saberi is being detained by Iranian authorities, we urge the government of Iran to provide access to legal advice, a transparent judicial process, and consular access for a Swiss consular official," Duguid added.