The case of journalist Roxana Saberi is shocking:
US-Iranian reporter Roxana Saberi, who faces an eight-year jail sentence on charges of espionage, will continue her hunger strike until she is released, her father told AFP on Sunday.
“We just had a 15-minute talk with her, and she has lost nearly 10 pounds (4.5 kilos). She is only having water and sugared water,” Reza Saberi added on the telephone.
Roxana Saberi, who celebrated her 32 birthday on Sunday, has refused food for six days in protest at her conviction by an Iranian revolutionary court in a closed-door trial of spying for the United States.
She has been held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since late January, when she was initially reported to have been arrested for buying alcohol, an illegal act in the Islamic republic.
“We tried to convince her to give up her hunger strike but she is persistent telling us ‘I will be either freed or I will die here’,” Reza Saberi added.
He said his daughter is determined to continue her hunger strike until she is released.
A website has been set up to campaign for Saberi’s release.