TEHRAN — The Iranian-American journalist imprisoned here since late January has become weak after seven days of a hunger strike, her father said Monday.
Associated
Press
Roxana Saberi, in an undated photo, turned 32 on Sunday. She is on a hunger strike.
Reza Saberi, the father of Roxana Saberi, who was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment this month on charges of spying for Washington, said his daughter had lost about 10 pounds. Mr. Saberi spoke after he and his wife, Akiko, visited her in prison on Monday, a day after her 32nd birthday.
Ms. Saberi started the hunger strike to protest her sentence and has demanded to be released. Her incarceration has become a new source of tension between Iran and the United States at a time when both countries have been making diplomatic overtures for improved relations after a 30-year estrangement. “She said she will continue her hunger strike until she is released,” Mr. Saberi said. “She drinks liquids but has refused to have food for seven days now.”
His daughter, who has worked as a journalist in Tehran for six years, was arrested in late January for buying a bottle of wine, which is illegal in Iran. The charges against her gradually escalated to working illegally without a press card and then spying for the United States. Her press card was revoked in 2006.
Ms. Saberi was in a good mood, her father said. Her parents have been allowed to visit her in jail every week.
“They asked me to translate her conversation with her mother,” said Mr. Saberi, explaining that his wife does not speak Persian.
Ms. Saberi’s parents traveled to Iran from their home in Fargo, N.D., this month in an effort to secure her release.
They have asked Shirin Ebadi, the country’s prominent human rights lawyer and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to help. A colleague of Ms. Ebadi’s is expected to meet Ms. Saberi on Tuesday.
Iran’s judiciary chief has ordered an investigation into the case, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has urged the prosecutor to ensure Ms. Saberi will get a fair appeal.