[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 57 (Monday, April 20, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4434-S4435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FREE ROXANA SABERI

  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

[[Page S4435]]

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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