Roxana Saberi, American Journalist Jailed in Iran on Espionage Charges, Freed After Appeals Court Suspends Sentence

I am glad to hear that Roxana Saberi, the American journalist who was jailed in Iran on espionage charges has been released after an Iranian appeals court suspended her prison sentence. You will recall that she was convicted last month of spying for the U.S. and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Her case had created some tension between the governments of the U.S. and Iran, especially in light of the adversarial relationship between both countries. That would certainly not advance or facilitate a spirit of cooperation. The U.S. had rightly called the charges against her "baseless" and demanded her freedom. According to media reports, her lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, says Iran's judiciary told him Monday that Saberi's jail term was reduced to a suspended two-year sentence.

She reportedly had moved to Iran six years ago and had worked as a freelance journalist for several organizations including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp. I am glad that she has been freed and I wish her a speedy recovery from this ordeal.