Journalist’s lawyer hopes for cut in 8-year sentence

A LAWYER for a jailed American journalist in Iran said yesterday he was optimistic that an appeals court will reduce her eight-year prison sentence for allegedly spying for the United States.

Roxana Saberi’s lawyer talked to reporters after his 32-year-old client’s five-hour closed-door appeals hearing. He said he was allowed to defend Saberi and expects the court will make its ruling in the coming days.

“I am hopeful and optimistic that there will be a remarkable change to her verdict,” Abdolsamad Khorramshahi said outside the courthouse.

“My colleague and I were allowed to defend our client in a favourable atmosphere. Our client also had enough time to defend herself,” Khorramshahi said.

Saberi, who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, was convicted last month after a closed-door hearing that her father said lasted only 15 minutes and her lawyer was not given time to defend her.

Iran had promised a complete review of the case on appeal and insisted Saberi would be allowed to provide a full defence. Officials have suggested that her prison term could be reduced.

The court could also overturn her conviction.

Iran’s judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said he believed “the ruling by the appeals court will be fair and based on the law,” the country’s official news agency reported yesterday.

But he also stressed that he could not “predict if she will be acquitted or the current verdict will remain in force”.

Most espionage cases in Iran are not open to the public.

Saberi’s father, Reza Saberi, told reporters earlier yesterday that although he accompanied his daughter to the courthouse, he was not allowed to enter the room where the hearing was being held.