Parents of imprisoned journalist plan Iran trip

AP: The father of imprisoned journalist Roxana Saberi says he and his wife are making plans to go to Iran to see her in a couple of days.

The Associated Press

By DAVE KOLPACK

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The father of imprisoned journalist Roxana Saberi says he and his wife are making plans to go to Iran to see her in a couple of days.

"I'm hoping if she sees us, it will lift her spirits," Reza Saberi said told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The Iranian government has said Roxana Saberi was imprisoned for doing reporting work in the country after her press credentials expired. Her parents found out about her arrest in a brief phone call from her Feb. 10.

Saberi, who grew up in Fargo, is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Iran who has reported for a number of international news organizations.

Her father said he worries his daughter may go on a hunger strike. He said she told him a prosecutor in Iran had told her she would remain in detention for months or even years.

"I think if they tell her she will be there for months, she will try to kill herself," Reza Saberi said.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and North Dakota's congressional delegation have appealed for Saberi's release. Executives of major news organizations have demanded that Iran specify how a detained American journalist broke the law, and that the country allow an outside group to evaluate her health and living conditions.