Saberi’s Release & its Implications for US-Iran Relations
In case you haven’t heard, US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi is free after being locked up in an Iranian jail for a few months under questionable circumstances. Her sentence was reduced to a suspended two-year term and she was ordered released. She was also banned from practicing journalism in Iran for five years and is on her way out of the country.
In the end, this seems to have been about little more than her possession of a classified government report on the US war in Iraq, and a couple trips to Israel. Of course the political context and the significance of this case is not lost on me. A few weeks ago, I wrote about it in a way that some found objectionable. I was not suggesting at the time that Saberi deserved what she got, rather that she was being somewhat irresponsible given the poor state of US-Iranian relations and a should have expected something bad to happen. What has emerged so far seems to confirm that.
Journalism is a risky business. It varies in degrees, spanning from average writers to journalists who risk life and limb for a big story. Saberi stood somewhere in the middle. Once her press credentials were revoked, she was taking big risks, especially when one considers the political climate surrounding her. She must have known there would be consequences for her actions. While some may castigate her for forging ahead, others will commend her sense of commitment. The truth is there are merits in both views. Personally, I am glad she’s free.
Roxana Saberi will be back in the US very soon, and while I anticipate the media will continue to exploit her story, I look forward to hearing what she has to say.
Fortunately for her, she is in the US government’s good graces. The main reason I chose to write about this case in the first place was because of the blind and sometimes hypocritical coverage it had been receiving in the press. What I found most troubling was the sense of rage US media outlets have been expressing considering their failure to do so when the tables are turned.
The US is no stranger to arresting journalists without cause. Al Jazeera’s Sami Al Hajj spent six years of his life in Guantanamo where he was questioned about his employer and mistreated. There have been many more. AP’s Bilal Hussein was locked up for over two years in Iraq without justification. Reuters’s Ibrahim Jassam is still imprisoned even though an Iraqi court ordered his release. In August, US authorities released Ali Al Mashadani; it was the third time the photojournalist had been arbitrarily jailed. Most of these guys, and several others were never even given a day in court. Saberi may not have had a fair trial at first, but leading officials asked for justice to be carried out in the end.
The Obama administration is allegedly making an effort to mend ties with Iran. Even if their intentions are insincere, some Iranian authorities are taking them seriously and they’re eager for any chance to show good faith. Saberi’s release is an example of diplomacy at work. Indeed, many question whether or not her predicament was all planned from the beginning. It probably was a ploy to curry favor with people in Washington. That’s sad, but for the sake of US-Iran relations, hopefully it worked.
If you disagree, switch things around and imagine that an Iranian-American journalist (who travelled frequently to Syria and Iran) was working for PRESS TV and obtained classified US documents. That person might have been sent to Guantanamo and/or tortured.
All’s well that ends well. Although she was unfairly punished, Saberi was not exactly innocent. Considering how backwards the judicial system in Iran is, she could have been treated much worse. At the end of the day things turned out OK for the young journalist… even if she did spend her 32nd birthday in jail. At least she has a good story to tell and her career can flourish following the publicity.
As far as US-Iran relations are concerned, the ball is now with Washington. At least that’s how it works in the petty world of politics. As sick as it seems, Saberi’s release was a gesture from Tehran. Insignificant as it may be, it was something… not just talk. It’s now Obama’s turn to do something. So far, things don’t look very promising.
