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Obama on US Journalist Held in Iran: No Espionage

by Mary Richard | April 19, 2009 at 09:32 am

547 views | 86 Recommendations | 6 comments

At the end of his closing speech at the Fifth Summit of the Americas today, President Obama spoke of US journalist Roxana Saberi, who was just sentenced to 8 years in prison in Iran, saying he was confident she was not involved in spying.

"Obviously I'm gravely concerned with her safety and well being," Obama told a news conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where he was attending the Fifth Summit of the Americas.

"We are working to make sure that she is properly treated and to get information about the disposition of her case. She is an American citizen and I have complete confidence that she was not engaging in any sort espionage," he added. "She is an Iranian-American who was interested in the country which her family came from and it is appropriate for her to be treated as such and be released."

He said that Washington will be in touch with Tehran about this case through Swiss intermediaries.

Recommended reading also, from the NY Times, Jailed American gets Support from Obama and Iran's President.

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Mary Richard

at 12:10 on April 19th, 2009

You think maybe he should just jump on the next plane to Iran? :-O

Hmm ... I don't think that worked too well for McCain last year.

Karen Hatter

at 13:06 on April 19th, 2009

Good question, Blue Crush.

Obviously, diplomatic maneuvers would be the first steps in any process to attempt to free the journalist before staging an invasion of Iran to try to find her and bring her home.

Amy Judd

at 13:44 on April 19th, 2009

I just really feel like Iran is not going to back down easily on this one, whether Obama wants to open talks with them or not.

Jennings David L

at 14:31 on April 19th, 2009

Good reporting on a case that should stay in the forefront until the woman is released. If this slips from the headlines it will be too easy to not put the full focus on getting a quick and successful resolution. As others have indicated, if America is weak now it will only get worse for journalists and travelers throughout the world.

Mary Richard

at 16:08 on April 19th, 2009

Interesting thoughts. No one has commented yet on the link I posted from the New York Times, which, BTW, has been updated - these points in particular:

"Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had sent a letter to Tehran’s chief prosecutor instructing him to ensure that Ms. Saberi is given the opportunity to present a full defense — presumably during her appeal."

"Observers have speculated that Ms. Saberi’s case is now part of a struggle taking place inside the opaque world of Iran’s complex power structure over how to respond to recent overtures from the United States to repair relations."

Maybe I'm being hopelessly naive here, but I'm thinking this might work in her favor?

Fred Miller

at 17:39 on April 19th, 2009

Jesse Jackson's track record

In 1983, Jackson traveled to Syria to secure the release of a captured American pilot, Navy Lt. Robert Goodman who was being held by the Syrian government. Goodman had been shot down over Lebanon while on a mission to bomb Syrian positions in that country. After a dramatic personal appeal that Jackson made to Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Goodman was released. Initially, the Reagan administration was skeptical about Jackson's trip to Syria. However, after Jackson secured Goodman's release, United States President Ronald Reagan welcomed both Jackson and Goodman to the White House on January 4, 1984[19].

This helped to boost Jackson's popularity as an American patriot and served as a springboard for his 1984 presidential run. In June 1984, Jackson negotiated the release of twenty-two Americans being held in Cuba after an invitation by Cuban president Fidel Castro.[20]

He traveled to Kenya in 1997 to meet with Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi as United States President Bill Clinton's special envoy for democracy to promote free and fair elections. In April 1999, during the Kosovo War, Jackson traveled to Belgrade to negotiate the release of three U.S. POWs captured on the Macedonian border while patrolling with a UN peacekeeping unit. He met with the then-Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević, who later agreed to release the three men.[21]