A lot of you – both Iranicaners and other interested people – have expressed a variety of opinions on the Roxana Saberi case currently gripping headlines around the country. Why not share them with us? Feel free to use an alias, for those of you worried about criticizing the Islamic Republic…
Besides the harshenss and inconsistency of Iran’s penal code (if you can call it that), was Saberi a bit too naive by overstaying her foreign journalist license, and purportedly attempting to buy alcohol? Were the Iranian authorities a bit too savage in adding charges of espionage/spying against her? Are the Iranian mullahs simply using this conviction to strengthen their place on the negotiating table with Uncle Sam? Is Ahmadinejad subtly trying to influence the case in Saberi’s favor, an indication of either trying to increase his popularity before June elections or of an internal governmental conflict in Tehran? Will the appeal be successful? How much makeup does Saberi actually use?
Let’s open the floor.
-Kevin
2 comments
The conservatives in Iran made a huge mistake. By showing their power in this way, they have shown themselves as desperate and therefore vulnerable. Not only is there no evidence of Roxana Saberi being a spy, but Roxana Saberi’s fiance provided an alibi: she was with Iranian film director Bahman Ghobadi the whole time.
( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8011849.stm )
Some say that she should have watched out and not done something as dumb as buying wine in Iran. They choose to ignore the overriding morality, ethics, and justice of Roxana’s incarceration. I’m sorry my friends, but some laws, especially those that pertain to universal human rights and justice, don’t get ignored just because a government chooses to ignore them. You must fight for these rights at every moment you can, and not let some petty excuses like “she was buying wine, which is illegal” get in the way of what’s really going on here: a internal power struggle within Iran.
Trita Parsi article has great insight into this issue:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trita-parsi/why-roxana_b_189225.html
Roxana has definitely become a token of negotiation in the Iran-U.S. relationship developments. We all know that both countries are moving toward session of dialog and Iran has chosen to keep these cases to gain credit once they are released as a result of agreements reached on the meeting table. Everything else is just a game, charges of espionage, possession of alcohol, expired press credentials, and all the other excuses are just words that are being thrown around. In the end she will get back home safe and sound, and the only thing that happens is that the Iranian government gains a slight leverage in the negotiations for the price of possibly creating hate is hearts and minds of Saberi and her circle of family and friends! I say possibly because they may act smart and really take care of her–while she is in custody and brownie points are waiting to be earned–to minimize or even eliminate that effect.
What is also interesting to me is that never before has the Secretary of State officially asked for an Iranian-American to be released. The closest case I remember to this was the case of Professor Zahedi of UC Berkeley, where the university sent an official request for his release. I wonder what Zahedi has to say about Roxana and Esha?! If Clinton had not mentioned these people, most likely they would be of no value to Iran and might have been freed sooner.
To be more specific about this case, I believe she definitely made some unwise moves, and to be fair, her negligence has to be recognized here. But it is obvious from the inconsistency in the ruling that she is not a spy nor is she of any importance for the Iranian government to hold on to.