Roxana Saberi/Hossein Derakhshan Update: Ahmadinejad Intervenes in Court Cases

UPDATE: Curiously, CNN does not seem to have noticed Ahmadinejad's intervention. Their current story focuses on the statement of Reza Saberi that his daughter is "frail and weak" in Evin prison.
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Enduring America, 18 April: "It could be that judicial forces wanted to show 'independence' from political pressure (ironic given that this is a politicised case) and moved quickly."

Iranian politics just swung in favour of Roxana Saberi.

Less than 24 hours after the announcement of Saberi's 8-year jail sentence on espionage charges, the office of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has published a letter to the judiciary about the cases of Saberi and jailed Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan (whose case Enduring America highlighted last November):

Based on the president's insistence, please make sure that all the legal stages about the mentioned people be based on justice.......and you personally make sure that the accused people will enjoy all freedoms and legal rights to defend themselves and their rights will not be violated.

Translation: the Iranian prosecutors and courts pushed this case to a quick conclusion. Now, facing the consequences for US-Iranian engagement and also wanting to curb the judiciary's activisms, Iranian leaders are pushing back.

The showdown will come as the case is appealed. Ahmadinejad has clearly indicated that he wants --- quickly --- a reduction of Saberi's sentence. Such a move will meet the measured but clear response of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that they were "deeply disappointed" over yesterday's announcement.

However, the President's wish is not necessarily a command. Will the prosecutors and judges try to hold their line and enforce the full 8-year jail term?

Analysis: Iran Jails Journalist Saberi for 8 Years on Espionage Charges

Latest Post: Roxana Saberi Update - Positive Signs Despite a Hopeless TV Interview
Related Post: The Dangers of the Roxana Saberi Espionage Trial

Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi has been convicted on charges of espionage and jailed for eight years by an Iranian Revolutionary Court.

Ms Saberi's lawyer Abdolsamad Khorramshahi and her father confirmed that the sentence would be appealed. The sentence was confirmed inside Iran by the Iranian Students News Agency, and there is a short item on the English-language website of Press TV.

The quick sentencing surprises me, as a judiciary spokesman indicated on Tuesday that it would be two to three weeks before the verdict was announced. It could be that judicial forces wanted to show "independence" from political pressure (ironic given that this is a politicised case) and moved quickly.

Alternatively, Iranian political elements --- reacting to perceived US pressure or raising the stakes, both in internal Iranian political manoeuvring and in US-Iranian relations --- pushed for a lengthy jail sentence.

No evidence was presented publicly to support Saberi's conviction. Thus it remains unclear why her initial crime --- the purchase of a bottle of wine --- escalted into charges of reporting without a license (especially as she had been filing stories over the last two years without that license) and then spying.

The reaction of the US Government should be watched very carefully. My suspicion is that American officials have been trying behind the scenes to strike a deal for Saberi's release (probably after conviction and deportation).

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's response reinforces that suspicion, as she maintained the measured tone that she was "deeply disappointed". Her statement was limited to the case rather than the wider significance for US-Iranian relations: "We are working closely with the Swiss Protecting Presence to obtain details about the court's decision, and to ensure her well-being....[We will] continue to vigorously raise our concerns to the Iranian government."

So far, Washington has not publicly linked the Saberi case to its "engagement" with Tehran, apart from the letter handed to the Iranians at the end of March. Does the Obama Administration continue with this strategy or does it threaten a suspension of engagement because of today's news?

Iran: The Dangers of the Roxana Saberi Espionage Trial

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.