Free Roxana Saberi

Floor Speech

FREE ROXANA SABERI -- (Senate - April 20, 2009)

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, 2 days ago, Roxana Saberi from Fargo, ND, was convicted of espionage by an Iranian revolutionary court and sentenced to 8 years in prison after a very brief trial that was held behind closed doors.

I have said very little publicly about this case But when the sentence was announced, I said I thought it was a terrible miscarriage of justice. I don't come to the floor today to inflame the passions about this issue, but I wish to, for a few moments, say some words about Roxana Saberi and to urge the Iranian Government to do the right thing and release this young woman from prison and allow her to come home to the United States.

Roxana Saberi is not a spy. She is an Iranian American. She was born and raised and educated in Fargo, ND. Her father is Iranian, which means she has dual citizenship. She went to Iran as a journalist because she is interested in the culture of the country which her father came from.

I know Roxana and her family, and let me tell you a bit about the young woman who sits today in a prison in Iran. Roxana was born in Fargo, ND, 31 years ago. Her father Reza is an Iranian, her mother Akiko is Japanese. She is a 1994 honors graduate of Fargo North High School. She was active in music and soccer and key club and dance. She is a member of that high school's hall of fame. She earned a double major in French and communications in 1997 from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. She was active in music and a sports star in soccer. She reported for the campus television and newspaper. In 1997, she was selected as Miss North Dakota. In 1997, she was one of the 10 finalists in the Miss America Pageant. When she received her Miss North Dakota title, Roxana said her aim was to encourage other young people to appreciate cultural differences. That ambition led her to a career in journalism.

In 1999, she completed a master's degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. In 2000, she received a master's degree in international relations from Cambridge University in England. She
moved in 2003 to Iran as a freelance journalist. She reported for National Public Radio, Fox News, and the BBC. This is a young woman of great accomplishment. She has two master's degrees, she has a great education, and she so celebrated her culture that she wanted to spend time in the country of Iran, where her father was born, and she did reporting in the country of Iran. She stayed in Iran after her press credentials lapsed in 2006. She stayed to write a book and complete work on a master's degree in Iranian studies and international relations.

At the end of January in this year, Roxana was picked up and sent to prison. She was held nearly 2 months without charge in a prison outside of Tehran. As I indicated, this Saturday she was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 8 years in prison. The trial was a brief closed-door trial, and this young woman was not allowed to speak in her own defense.

Since Roxana Saberi was convicted and sentenced on Saturday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent a letter to the Tehran's prosecutor saying Roxana's rights must not be violated in any way and he asked the prosecutor to ensure that she is allowed to offer a full defense in her appeal.

In addition, the head of Iran's judiciary has ordered a ``quick and fair'' appeal of Roxana's case. Perhaps they understand that because of worldwide attention to the imprisonment of this young woman, Iran's credibility is on trial as well. When Iranian authorities review Roxana's cases, they will see she has not been granted the basic human and judicial rights that are guaranteed--or supposed to be guaranteed--under Iran's Constitution and penal code.

As I said, she was arrested in late January, she was held without charge and kept without communication with her family for weeks before being allowed to call her parents in faring Fargo, ND. It took about 6 weeks before she was allowed to see the lawyer who was hired by her parents. At first, she was told she was imprisoned because she bought a bottle of wine, and the person who sold her the bottle of wine had reported it to Iranian authorities. Then she was accused of working as a journalist without a valid press card. Finally, she was accused of espionage, of spying for the United States, and at the trial--conducted behind closed doors, according to her lawyer--was not allowed to speak in her own defense.

Roxana Saberi's parents have traveled to Iran to work on their daughter's behalf. They say they have been treated courteously by Iranian officials. They have now been able to visit Roxana in prison, and they have been allowed to work with the lawyer and speak to the press. I visited with Roxana's father today and a couple times last week. He is enormously gratified at the outpouring of support for Roxana from all around the world. President Obama, I know, has spoken of this issue, Secretary Clinton, media outlets around the world and nongovernment organizations, foreign governments and the European Union have all appealed on her behalf. Roxana's father has indicated she has not been abused in prison but that she is frail, has lost weight, and he fears she may not survive in prison for a lengthy term.

Some have said this case suggests we shouldn't have any dialogue or discussions with Iran. I think quite the opposite. One of the difficulties of this case is that an American citizen has been imprisoned unfairly in Iran and then charged and tried and sentenced unfairly. We have no embassy and no Ambassador in Iran, so we must work through the Swiss Embassy, which is the protecting power for American citizens in Iran.

My hope is that as a result of what has happened internationally and as a result of what we have heard from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the chief of Iran's judicial system, the Iranian authorities will understand this is a travesty of justice; that this doesn't meet any standard of fairness and that Roxana Saberi is not--is not, I repeat--a spy. My hope is the Iranian authorities will decide enough is enough, and they will allow this young woman to be freed from prison and to travel back to this country.

She is an American citizen, born, raised, and educated in this country. The Iranians make the case she is an Iranian citizen. That ignores the fact that she was born and raised and educated here. She is an American citizen. To have an American citizen imprisoned in Iran, held 2 months without charge, and then charged in a closed-door trial with espionage is, in my judgment, an affront to fairness, and I think it is an unbelievable miscarriage of justice. My fervent hope is the Iranian authorities will do what should be done in this case and recognize that a miscarriage has occurred. They have the ability and the capability to rectify it.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota is recognized.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I would like to first address the matter of Roxana Saberi, a young woman from our home State. Roxana Saberi is someone I know. She has interviewed me many times. Roxana is a journalist, and a very good one. She is somebody who had parents with Iranian tradition and legacy in their family. She went to Iran to learn more about her own legacy, her own inheritance. She was always impressed by what she had learned about the Iranian people. She is someone who loves the Iranian people and respects their culture. She is someone who was there in a role as a reporter, providing reports to National Public Radio as well as British Broadcasting. So it was with amazement that we heard of these charges, as Senator Dorgan outlined correctly, first being told she was jailed because she had bought a bottle of wine, then told she had filed reports without a proper authorization, and then the stunning news that she was being charged with espionage and put through a 1-day trial in which she was not able to speak in her own defense. These are circumstances which require us to speak out and to ask the judicial system in Iran to provide a swift appeal and allow Roxana to come home. She was sentenced Saturday to 8 years in prison. Her family reports that while she is not being mistreated, she is somebody who is vulnerable. This has been very difficult for her. So we ask the Iranian authorities to give her a swift appeal and allow her to return to the United States.

Roxana is someone I know well. She is a warm, loving person, somebody who is well regarded as a journalist in my home State, someone about whom I think anyone who would meet her would say: Here is someone who is proud of her heritage, proud of the history of the Iranian culture, and somebody who loves the Iranian people.

I was encouraged that President Ahmadinejad has indicated that he would like to see the court provide justice and that he has asked them to take up the appeal swiftly and to give Roxana and her defense all of the opportunities anyone should be able to expect if they are charged with such serious crimes.

I make my own personal appeal here on the floor of the Senate this evening. Roxana is somebody, as I have said, I know well. She is a terrific reporter, has interviewed me many times. There is no question in my mind that Roxana was in Iran for the purpose of preparing a book on the people of Iran and to do reports to NPR, British Broadcasting, and even to outlets back home.

I hope the Iranian authorities will think very carefully about how they are seen on the world stage based on how they treat this young reporter. Like all of us in public life, we are judged by what we do. We are held accountable. I hope the Iranian authorities are thinking very carefully about how they will be seen in this matter. I plead with them to release Roxana and to permit her to come home. She is a North Dakotan. She is someone of whom we are very proud. She is a reporter. She deserves to be released.

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