Iranian Prosecutor: Saberi spied under guise of journalist American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been detained in a notorious Tehran prison since January, has been charged with spying, deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad said on Wednesday. "Her case has been sent to the revolutionary court. She, without press credentials, was carrying out spying activities under the guise of being a reporter," Haddad was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
"The evidence is mentioned in her case papers and she has accepted all the charges. She has been arrested under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Saberi has reported for U.S.-based National Public Radio (NPR), the BBC and Fox News, and had been living in Iran for six years.
Calls for release
The decision to charge the journalist comes despite calls by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her release and President Barack Obama extending diplomatic overtures towards Iran.
Saberi, who holds both American and Iranian nationalities, was initially reportedly detained for buying alcohol, which is prohibited in the Islamic republic.
In March, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said Saberi’s press identity card was revoked in 2006 and since then she had been working "illegally" in the country.
Haddad said on Wednesday that Saberi had entered Iran as an "Iranian citizen."
"She has an Iranian citizenship, passport and an Iranian national identity card. She has entered Iran as an Iranian citizen and if she has another citizenship, we are unaware of it and it has no effect on how we will proceed with her case," he said.
"There is no evidence that she has another citizenship and the investigation is still on."
Saberi’s lawyer Abdolsamad Khoramshahi said he has still not seen the charges.
Saberi’s parents visited her in Tehran’s Evin jail on Monday, after arriving from the United States. Khorramshahi then said she was in good health and mental condition.
They appealed to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month for their daughter’s release, saying she was in a "critical" mental condition.
Her father said she also wanted to see her lawyer "to point out … that apparently some of the statements were made under pressure, under threat, you know, so that they were not valid."
Several detained
Iran, which does not recognize dual nationality and has had no ties with the United States for three decades, has detained several Iranian-Americans, including academics, in recent years.
Clinton delivered a letter to the Iranian delegation on the sidelines of an international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague on March 31, seeking the release of Saberi and making appeals on behalf of two other U.S. nationals.
Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, vanished on the Gulf island of Kish two years ago while student Esha Momeni has been prevented from leaving Iran despite her release from jail last year.
Momeni — a graduate student at California State University — was detained in Tehran on Oct. 15 and released on bail in November but authorities have prevented her from leaving Iran.
She had travelled to Iran for a research on women’s rights but was detained on charges of acting against Iran’s national security.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi has, however, denied receiving any letter from U.S. officials asking about the three U.S. nationals.