U.S. Journalist In Iran, Roxana Saberi, Sentenced By Iranians To 8 Years in Prison

Roxana Saberi, the dual American-Iranian citizen arrested by the Iranians for spying, has become the token pawn of the Iranian propaganda machine against the new Obama administration and has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Some of you may remember my post here at Holger Awakens where I talked about how this was all a case of the Iranians putting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her place and that is exactly how this all turned out. Hillary thought she could just make a strong statement demanding the release of Saberi and the Iranians would just let her go....well, the Iranians decided to use this young woman to teach Mrs. Clinton a lesson and they did just that. Here's some of the details from Breitbart:

An Iranian revolutionary court has sentenced US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi to eight years in jail on charges of spying for the United States, her lawyer said on Saturday.
The verdict -- the harshest sentence ever meted out to a dual national on security charges in Iran -- was greeted with shock by her father, who said Saberi had been "tricked" into confessing.
Saberi, 31, has been detained in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran since January and went on trial behind closed doors on Monday accused of spying for the United States.

The ISNA news agency, quoting an unnamed judiciary source, confirmed that a revolutionary court had sentenced Saberi for espionage -- a charge that could have risked the death sentence. No date was given for the verdict.
"Roxana said in court that her earlier confessions were not true and she told me she had been tricked into believing that she would be released if she cooperated," her father Reza Saberi told AFP.
"Her denial is documented in her case but apparently they did not pay attention to it," he added, without saying when he had spoken to his daughter.

I figure if Saberi would have been 100% American, she probably would have gotten the death penalty. But this is just an example of how the Iranians operate - their position is always the same and that is one of threats - they remind me of those small dogs we all run into in the park or on the sidewalk....those ankle biters that go apeshit at you with their snarling and growling and showing of teeth - you know that with one well-placed kick the little fucker would be dead but you still take a step back because the thing looks like it might be rabid. That's the Iranians...they're weak, they're stupid but they set you on your heels because you think they're mad (as in insane, not angry).

Anyway, so much for Hillary's first venture into shaping behavior of Iranians.

Iran sentences US reporter to 8 years in jail

"Ms Saberi has been sentenced to eight years in jail and I am going to appeal," her lawyer Abdolsamad Khoramshahi told AFP. Under Iranian law, the verdict can be appealed within 20 days.
The case against Saberi, who has both US and Iranian nationality, has raised deep concerns in Washington and among rights groups.
She was initially reported to have been detained for buying alcohol, an illegal act in the Islamic republic.
The ISNA news agency, quoting an unnamed judiciary source, confirmed that a revolutionary court had sentenced Saberi for espionage -- a charge that could have risked the death sentence. No date was given for the verdict.
"Roxana said in court that her earlier confessions were not true and she told me she had been tricked into believing that she would be released if she cooperated," her father Reza Saberi told AFP.
"Her denial is documented in her case but apparently they did not pay attention to it," he added, without saying when he had spoken to his daughter.
"We are very shocked and we were not expecting it. We were hoping for six months and then clemency."
The court ruling comes despite calls by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Saberi's release and President Barack Obama's diplomatic overtures to Iran after three decades of ruptured ties.
Several US-Iranians, including academics, have been detained in recent years on security charges, but released after several months behind bars.
US-born Saberi, who is also of Japanese descent, has reported for US-based National Public Radio (NPR), the BBC and Fox News, and had lived in Iran for six years.
The BBC said in a statement issued in London it was "extremely concerned at this severe sentence".
"Roxana was tried in secret and no evidence of espionage has been made public," it said.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said in March that Saberi's press card had been revoked in 2006 and since then she had been working "illegally".
Earlier this month Tehran's deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad said Saberi was carrying out "spying activities under the guise of being a reporter."
Haddad said Saberi had entered Iran, which does not recognise dual nationality, as an Iranian citizen and "there is no evidence that she has another citizenship."
Last month, Saberi's parents -- who came to Iran to pursue her case and have visited her at least twice -- appealed to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for her release, saying she was in a "dangerous" mental state.