EPICANTHUS

TEHRAN—Roxana Saberi, the NPR, BBC, Fox News freelancer held here since January, was tried on espionage charges by Iran’s Revolutionary Court in a one-day trial, a judiciary spokesman announced today.

The brief trial was held behind closed doors. A verdict is expected within three weeks, Ali Reza Jamshidi told reporters.

Hassan Haddad, Iran’s deputy prosecutor for security issues, said that Saberi had confessed to taking part in espionage activities, Iran’s English-language Press TV said.

It was unclear why the trial was moving at such a fast pace, especially because the charges leveled against Saberi were so serious. Under Iranian law, those convicted of spying normally face up to 10 years in prison.

Saberi’s lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, said he was not authorized to speak to the media about the trial, which he was permitted to attend. “I will comment only after the verdict is issued,” he told The Associated Press.

Saberi, 31, is the U.S.-born daughter of Iranian American Reza Saberi and Japan-born Dr. Akiko Saberi of Fargo, North Dakota. Her parents, who traveled to Iran in a bid to help win their daughter’s release, could not immediately be reached for comment.

• American Journalist Awaits Fate After Iran Spy Trial, timesonline
• U.S. Journalist Goes on Trial in Iran for Spying, guardian.co.uk
• Iran Charges U.S. ‘Spy’ Journalist, Al Jazeera
• Roxana Saberi and the Iran Fast Spy-Making Machine, Omid Memarian, HuffPo
• Clinton Urges Speedy Release by Iran of Reporter, Reuters