Friday
Apr172009
Iran: The Dangers of the Roxana Saberi Espionage Trial
Friday, April 17, 2009 at 8:05
Latest Post: Roxana Saberi Update - Positive Signs Despite a Hopeless TV Interview
Related Post: Iran Jails Journalist Saberi for 8 Years on Espionage Charges
It is a rare day when I agree with an opinion in the Wall Street Journal, but that morning has come.
Commenting on the espionage trial of Iranian-American Roxana Saberi, which began in secret on Monday, Gerald Seib commented, "This is a significant event that likely serves multiple, unpleasant purposes for an Iranian government with which the Obama administration is about to begin talking."
Let's be clear. The immediate multiple, unpleasant effects are being felt by Roxana Saberi, as she remains in Evin Prison in Tehran. Any failure of judgement --- she was initially charged with buying a bottle of wine and then for reporting without a license --- does not constitute espionage, especially when that guilt is to be determined without legal representation or any public presentation of evidence.
Possibly some of my friends and colleagues in Tehran would argue that the judiciary, as an independent branch, makes its own determinations on cases to be tried and that politicians should not interfere in that process. But, again to be clear, every indication is that the decision to ratchet up the charges against Saberi from possession of alcohol to spying was political, not legal, in nature. As Seib writes, "A journalist can be an easy target for signal-sending."
I'm not so sure about Seib's speculation for Saberi's prosecution, "It's the kind of move that chills internal dissent." This feels more like one agency or faction trying to score points against others within Iran's complex political system.
The broader point remains, however, that this trial is a powerful check-and-balance against Iranian engagement with the US. Two weeks ago, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton passed a letter to Iranian representatives at The Hague conference raising the cases of Saberi and another detainee, as well as an American who has been missing for years after a trip to Iran. The decision to proceed with the trial, as well as a judiciary spokesman's criticism of American interference, is a blunt response that Iran does not bow to US wishes on its internal matters.
Some Iranian officials and politicians may have recognised the damage this case could cause to US-Iranian discussions. However, it has now proceeded so far that Iran cannot release Saberi and "save face".
My hope is that the Saberi case will follow the pattern of that of Haleh Esfandiari, the Iranian-American academic jailed in 2007 on charges of spying. After four months, and an intensive campaign on her behalf by colleagues such as the former Senator Lee Hamilton, Esfandiari was released.
However, it is important to note that Esfandiari was "better connected" than Saberi and that she never went to trial. And the US Government has been very reluctant to step in publicly for Saberi; it was only yesterday that a State Department spokesman broached concern.
Thus for Saberi's sake and --- not more importantly but more broadly --- for the sake of US-Iran engagement, some politicians and officials in Iran need to move with a face-saving solution such as conviction and immediate deportation.
It is essential that US-Iran discussions, leading to a more productive relationship diplomatic, economic, and cultural relationship, continue. It is just as essential that, in the name of those discussions, Roxana Saberi is not seen as expendable.
Related Post: Iran Jails Journalist Saberi for 8 Years on Espionage Charges
It is a rare day when I agree with an opinion in the Wall Street Journal, but that morning has come.Commenting on the espionage trial of Iranian-American Roxana Saberi, which began in secret on Monday, Gerald Seib commented, "This is a significant event that likely serves multiple, unpleasant purposes for an Iranian government with which the Obama administration is about to begin talking."
Let's be clear. The immediate multiple, unpleasant effects are being felt by Roxana Saberi, as she remains in Evin Prison in Tehran. Any failure of judgement --- she was initially charged with buying a bottle of wine and then for reporting without a license --- does not constitute espionage, especially when that guilt is to be determined without legal representation or any public presentation of evidence.
Possibly some of my friends and colleagues in Tehran would argue that the judiciary, as an independent branch, makes its own determinations on cases to be tried and that politicians should not interfere in that process. But, again to be clear, every indication is that the decision to ratchet up the charges against Saberi from possession of alcohol to spying was political, not legal, in nature. As Seib writes, "A journalist can be an easy target for signal-sending."
I'm not so sure about Seib's speculation for Saberi's prosecution, "It's the kind of move that chills internal dissent." This feels more like one agency or faction trying to score points against others within Iran's complex political system.
The broader point remains, however, that this trial is a powerful check-and-balance against Iranian engagement with the US. Two weeks ago, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton passed a letter to Iranian representatives at The Hague conference raising the cases of Saberi and another detainee, as well as an American who has been missing for years after a trip to Iran. The decision to proceed with the trial, as well as a judiciary spokesman's criticism of American interference, is a blunt response that Iran does not bow to US wishes on its internal matters.
Some Iranian officials and politicians may have recognised the damage this case could cause to US-Iranian discussions. However, it has now proceeded so far that Iran cannot release Saberi and "save face".
My hope is that the Saberi case will follow the pattern of that of Haleh Esfandiari, the Iranian-American academic jailed in 2007 on charges of spying. After four months, and an intensive campaign on her behalf by colleagues such as the former Senator Lee Hamilton, Esfandiari was released.
However, it is important to note that Esfandiari was "better connected" than Saberi and that she never went to trial. And the US Government has been very reluctant to step in publicly for Saberi; it was only yesterday that a State Department spokesman broached concern.
Thus for Saberi's sake and --- not more importantly but more broadly --- for the sake of US-Iran engagement, some politicians and officials in Iran need to move with a face-saving solution such as conviction and immediate deportation.
It is essential that US-Iran discussions, leading to a more productive relationship diplomatic, economic, and cultural relationship, continue. It is just as essential that, in the name of those discussions, Roxana Saberi is not seen as expendable.
Reader Comments (36)
Insights and Intuitions
Reflections on the Nature of Existence
by Reza Saberi
Insights and Intuitions is of special interest to students of philosophy, but everyone who cogitates upon the nature of existence can benefit from it. The book does not offer a system of philosophy or a systematic philosophy, but rather incites the reader's mind to explore the reality of existence from different angles.
May be interesting, but can't get more info on his writings or a bio sketch so far.
OK, time to leave the poor girl alone. I hope Tehran lets her out soon....
PolakMaly, you're barking up the wrong tree, she's a well known, established journalist. Google harder. The question isn't whether she's a real reporter or not, it's whether she's also a spy.
Mr. Mull, I think the time has come to put away all the big toys and big guns, move away from Big Government and Centralized Power, end all forms of torture and state coercion, and work towards building a decentralized, respectful, and tolerant world. Miss Saberi is not the first and the last victim of state sponsored terrorism. There are many young men and women in her shoes or worse around the world and nobody give a damn about them (I apologize for the language). My point was not to discredit Miss Saberi or accuse her of anything. I spend a considerable time trying to establish Miss Saberi's credentials and really I've never heard of her. I don't believe anything I hear in the media and always try to do my research before establishing any opinions. I would appreciate if you enlighten us all and post links here to help establishing Miss Saberi's credentials, journalism, work, etc.... I dread that this young lady has to go through what she does and hope she puts this nightmare behind her soon.
Polak,
http://freeroxana.net/?page_id=47
If NPR isn't credible enough, can't help ya
Thanks Mr. Mull, but I've already seen all the links there. All to NPR. About 20 credible links not on the page, but NPR, 3 minute clips in 6 years. No real beef. Other than that she wrote two short pieces for Junior Scholastic magazine. We need more articles, journals, peer review papers, working papers, etc....
Polak,
What angle are you looking for? I mean what does it prove that she doesn't have enough articles published? I've only been on the BBC ONCE, for 3 minutes, and it was about Ron Paul of all things - would you let me die in a Persian prison?
No one should die in any prison! I think I made that point already.
Peer review of Miss Saberi's:
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Junior Scholastic: PC indoctrination for the middle school set
By Mona Charen
...my sixth-grader drew my attention to his homework assignment. He was to read an article about Iran in Junior Scholastic magazine and answer questions about it. ...
The Oct. 1, 2007, issue featured a cover story titled "Iran: The Other Side of the World?" The piece begins by introducing Mohammad Reza Moqaddam, a 15-year-old resident of Qom, who "speaks quietly and respectfully" and prays five times a day. "A lot of young people these days have distanced themselves from religion," he relates. "I would like them to be much closer to it." Mohammad pays close attention to the news though, and offers the view that "Even if Iran wants nuclear weapons, it's none of the other countries' business. Some of them have nuclear weapons themselves."
OK, so when do we get to the part where it is explained that even if young Mohammad wants a neutral take on the news, he cannot get it in Iran where the press is rigidly controlled by the regime? Nowhere. Where does it explain that Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil supplier and therefore scarcely in need of "peaceful nuclear power"? You won't find that either.
The article (written by Roxana Saberi, a reporter for National Public Radio) explains that Iran has been "at odds" with America since the revolution of 1979, which forced out the "U.S.-backed Shah" and brought to power a government "based on strict Islamic principles." But she doesn't mention that Ayatollah Khomeini and his mobs denounced the United States as the "great Satan" and chanted "Death to America." The hostage crisis, in which armed militants, possibly including the current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, held 52 American diplomats for 444 days, goes unmentioned until a glancing reference at the end of the article under Iranian history.
Omitting the nature of the revolution and vehement America hatred of its leaders, the article then instructs students that "the war in Iraq has further increased those tensions" because the U.S. commanders "claim" that Iran is supporting militias but the Iranian defense minister has labeled these accusations a "sheer lie."
There's much more along these lines. "Some members of the Bush Administration want to take military action against Iran." But nary a word on Ahmadinejad's threat to annihilate Israel or to see a world "without the United States." Nor is there any mention of the thousands of casualties of the revolution, the public stonings or the virtue police. We meet more Iranian youngsters who defend their regime: "The U.S. thinks we are dangerous. Why shouldn't we think the U.S. is dangerous?" asks a pretty, scarf-clad 13-year-old. Tania "is devoted to her country. Her wish for her people is that they become wise and well-educated." She "hopes to help" her nation someday "by becoming a lawyer."
We get the point. Only xenophobes would find this country hostile or frightening. The more we get together the happier we'll be.
I'm not urging that Junior Scholastic gird our kids for war with Iran. But this happy patter is insipid and unworthy of them.
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071110/OPINION04/711100014
OK, that's it for me. I think I'm finished with all investigations of this young lady. I conclude that she in fact is a credible journalist, although her subject matter and how she approaches it raises some eyebrows. Her reporting is very analytical and provocative, but seems to offer little in terms of nonviolent approaches and alternative conflict resolutions. There is some mention of equal rights for women and things such as the need for education in Iran. But her overwhelming focus is on Iran's government and Iran's strategic options. With her ambitions, I wouldn't be surprised if she attempted to reform Iran and run for political office. The other question is how far she would go in yielding to Washington's and/or British demands. We all know that Iran has a long history in dealing with Washington and Britain in it's pre-Islamic revolution years. She has been playing with fire. Hopefully that fire can still be extinguished, for her sake, the Iranian people's, and the rest of us around the world. Peace!
Scott's point about the failure to provide evidence is a valid one, but it also needs to be pointed out that trials occur in the west where evidence is not openly provided either to the wider public or, in some cases, even to the defendant. This is done on the grounds of national security, protection of sources ...