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Tehran should free Iranian-US journalist: Obama
[Al Arabiya Latest] American President Barack Obama on Sunday urged Tehran to free the imprisoned Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the judiciary to ensure that Saberi enjoys her legal right to defend herself.Obama said he was "deeply concerned" for the safety of Saberi, 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 Washington would be in touch with Tehran about the case through Swiss intermediaries. President Ahmadinejad earlier urged Tehran's prosecutor to ensure that Saberi enjoys her legal right to defend herself, a day after she was sentenced to eight years in jail for spying for the United States, the official IRNA news agency reported. Posted by: Fred 2009-04-20 |
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