Iran releases Roxana Seberi

[ColbertWatcher]

Source: BBC

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed that the US-Iranian journalist jailed in Iran, Roxana Saberi, has been freed.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8044706.stm

---

The link goes to the BBC and includes a short video of Secretary of State Clinton's remarks upon hearing that Sebari was freed.

[ShortnFiery]

1. Good, now if this Iranian heritage North Dakota native AGAIN goes back to Iran, she should

be on her own.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Wow. Why do you say that? n/t

[ShortnFiery]

3. Because she IMO, basically set herself up.

She was born in the USA, therefore, everything she did would be scrutinized. She knew that but went anyway.

IMO, that's crazy, i.e., a death wish.

Because I was actually born in The Middle East and have studied the history of strife and political unbalance, I don't consider myself out of line judging her harshly.

I just hope she doesn't put US in this situation again.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. OK. Maybe I was being naive. n/t

[ShortnFiery]

7. No, you're more than entitled to your opinion. Some people are much less jaded than myself.

:-) :hi:

[MnFats]

4. Does this mean we don't get to bomb the shit out of Iran? Oh, wait...

that's Bush's take on this sort of thing.
Diplomacy works? Damn! whoda thunk?

[ColbertWatcher]

6. If Obama keeps this up, History channel may have to do a show about it. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

42. Or Broadway

a musical :shrug:

[kickysnana]

8. When are we going to release all of our illegals? n/t

[Arctic Dave]

9. I'm glad to see that she is being released. Not that her being a spy is out the question.

I think it benefited Iran more to let her go as a form of PR.

[DCKit]

48. They lost more face by detaining her in the first place, then having to let her go.

A stupid, senseless dick-waving contest. So effective, it may as well have been planned by BushCo. Given the outcome, I'm pretty sure Kkkarl Rove had a hand in it.

If the stakes weren't so high with real people being hurt, it would be like watching the antics of those evil but stupid organizations from old movies and television shows - SPECTRE, CHAOS, Pinky and the Brain, Wiley Coyote, Sylvester the cat, Yosemite Sam, Snidely Whiplash, The Wicked Witch of the West, etc...

[jgraz]

10. Countdown to Faux Snooze finding some way to attack Obama over this... 3...2...1

I'm guessing it will have something to do with putting mustard on a teleprompter.

[Ian David]

11. They knew she wasn't a spy, because Bob Novak would have told them if she was. n/t

[rasputin1952]

12. Breaking...Journalist wins appeal in Iran, sentence reduced to

Source: MSNBC

MSNBC reporting.

Read more: http//:www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30679918/

---

2 years, and suspended, she is expected to be released shortly.

More to follow, this was just a short blurb on MSNBC.

:woohoo:

[Dennis Donovan]

13. Great news!! Recommended!

:thumbsup:

[Demeter]

14. It's Not Like They Can Afford to Have Her Die in Their Jail

and it was coming down to that.

[ShortnFiery]

22. They could force - tube feed her like we do the prisoners on starvation protest in GIT-MO.

There's always alternatives. I am thankful that this young woman may soon be free and will not cast aspersions. Our nation is hardly pure when it comes to the issue of detaining prisoners.

[polmaven]

24. You said it all!

Our nation is hardly pure when it comes to the issue of detaining prisoners. I can think of nothing more to the point.

[ConcernedCanuk]

51. "Our nation is hardly pure when it comes to the issue of detaining prisoners" - Zactly

.
.
.

well said

:thumbsup:

[riderinthestorm]

49. No, she had voluntarily stopped her hunger strike last week in order to preserve her health. nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. BBC link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8043768.stm

[rasputin1952]

19. Thank you...I was searching for a link and couldn't find one...

:hi:

[Adelante]

16. Good news, Ras

Thank you :hi:

[ThomCat]

17. This is wonderful! She will be free! Hopefully she is healthy

or will be soon after she is released and can get some time to recover in a good hospital somewhere.

I hope her career prospers after this, though obviously somewhere else.

:)

[riderinthestorm]

50. I hope she's healthy too. She "voluntarily" stopped her hunger strike last week.

Presumably after seeing her family. But of course, who knows what the real story is - the official line is that she voluntarily stopped her hunger strike last week after she got her point across. Who knows.

It's hard to know what her real role was in Iran. Clearly, she's gonna be persona non gratis in many ME countries for a long time because of this. If she was a spy, that career is done. If she is a real ME journalist, that career is over as well. I don't know what she does next. Very troubling.

[ThomCat]

53. If she is a real journalist she can go into other areas of journalism.

It's a big profession and a big world. There is a whole lot to report. I hope she can still have a prosperous career. :)

If she is a spy then I'm sure her employer will find something else for her to do. :shrug:

[fasttense]

18. I wonder if they tortured her to get good intelligence?

She might have information that could save hundreds. Oh wait, this is Iran and NOT the United States.

So much for the moral high ground.

[Eric J in MN]

29. She's a convicted spy, so she's a high-value detainee...

...and so it would be ethical to torture her, according to the Bush Administration and its supporters.

[foo_bar]

33. the notion isn't that far off

Lawyers for the 31 year old, whose imprisoning sparked a global outcry, said she left Tehran's Evin jail hours after her eight-year term was cut.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8044193.stm

On 23 June 2003, Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested for taking photographs in front of the prison, and died while in prison. The Iranian government claimed that she died from a stroke while being interrogated, but doctors examining Kazemi's body found evidence of rape, torture and a skull fracture. <6>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evin_Prison

[Kind of Blue]

20. Fantastic News! Thank you for posting it! n/t

[madrchsod]

21. the man behind the curtain decided she was`t worth the trouble....

[No Elephants]

23. Great, but I thought this threadwas going to be about the shoe throwing journalist. Let's face it,

sooner or later, that man is going to have his own holiday. They need to sentence him to time served and get going on that, too. Meanwhile, I am happy for this woman and her loved ones

[Bluenorthwest]

26. This is a story about Iran

The shoe throwing journalist is in Iraq.

[No Elephants]

54. Thanks. Yes, I know, but Iran is not the first word of the headline.

[okieinpain]

25. hope she doesn't stay after she's released. n/t.

[2Design]

27. better than being caught by the usa and tortured n/t

[Eric J in MN]

28. I hope North Korea releases the two female American journalists...

...it's holding, soon.

==============================
http://www.upiasia.com/Human_Rights/2009/05/11/detainees_fate_uncertain_in_north_korea/7810/

The two female reporters, both working for Current TV, the U.S.-based media outlet founded by former Vice President Al Gore, were arrested on March 17 while traveling near the North Korea-China border. They were taken by North Korean border guards while venturing onto the frozen border river to get a closer shot of the isolated country.
==============================

[ColbertWatcher]

46. Agreed. n/t

[thereismore]

30. Do you think talking to your enemies might actually work in subtle ways? nt

[mn9driver]

31. But..but.. Clifford May said we should threaten Iran with military action

And that Obama was wrong and weak not to take them to the wall on this. He has a nationally syndicated column, so we should respect his opinion, right? </sarcasm>

[Towlie]

32. The DU home page says "Journalist wins appeal in Iran, sentence reduced to MSNBC reporting."

What was the sentence before, Fox News reporting?

:rofl:

[Vidar]

34. Glad to hear it.

[louis-t]

35. I think Iran just subtly 'one-upped' the US.

As we are being knocked down a notch or two on the world stage, they just moved up a notch.

[Mudoria]

37. Not really

[louis-t]

38. Your reply was kind of vague. What I meant was

as the world learns more about American torture, Iran just implied that they can be merciful, even if it was all done for political purposes.

[myrna minx]

36. K&R n/t

[intheflow]

39. YEA!!!

:woohoo:

[steven johnson]

40. Clinton 'heartened' by Roxana Saberi's release in Iran

Thank goodness, saner heads have prevailed.

Published: Monday May 11, 2009


Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday she was "heartened" by the release of US-born reporter Roxana Saberi from a jail in Iran, but again attacked her conviction for spying.
"Obviously we continue to take issue with the charges against her and the verdict rendered, but we are very heartened that she has been released and wish her and her family all the very best," Clinton told reporters.
She said Saberi's release had been confirmed to the US government by the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which handles US interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
"She is currently with her family and will be leaving Tehran to return to the US in the coming days," the top US diplomat added.
A Tehran appeals court reduced Saberi's prison term for espionage to a two-year suspended sentence, ending a four-month ordeal for the US-Iranian journalist.
The release removes one cloud over President Barack Obama's attempts to end three decades of diplomatic estrangement between the United States and Iran.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Clinton_heartened_by_Roxana_Saberi__05112009.html

[onestepforward]

41. Great news!

[Jefferson23]

43. K&R Excellent

[LeftishBrit]

44. Good news!

[Odin2005]

45. All your fellow Fargoans wish you a safe trip back home, Roxana!!!

:woohoo:

[AngryAmish]

47. What did they get?

The Mullahs don't give up hostages without getting something.

[ConcernedCanuk]

52. World respect - that's what they got

.
.
.

Maybe they do not deserve it, I'm not judging either way.

But that release has put them WAY above the USA

think Gitmo

we are