Roxana Saberi, the American freelance journalist who was arrested by the Iranian government, has been convicted of spying for the United States and sentenced to eight years in prison: US 'deeply disappointed' as Iran convicts reporter.
Saberi was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But earlier this month, an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation, charging her with spying for the United States.
The White House said President Barack Obama was "deeply disappointed" by the conviction, while the journalist's father told a radio station his daughter was tricked into making incriminating statements by officials who told her they would free her if she did.
The conviction complicates the Obama administration's efforts to break a 30-year-old diplomatic deadlock with Tehran. This is obviously not the end of this, but it's pretty bad news. More on Roxana Saberi here: Profile: Roxana Saberi.
*
