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.