Roxana Saberi Biography
Roxana Saberi is an American freelance journalist and former Miss North Dakota pageant winner.
Roxana Saberi Education
She studied at Fargo North High School in 1994, where she played piano and soccer and took part in Key Club and dance line. She graduated with honor in 1994. She then joined Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and graduated in 1997, with degrees in Communication and French.
She has a master’s degree from Northwestern University in broadcast journalism and a second master’s degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge. She was working on her third master’s degree in Iranian studies at the time of her arrest.
Roxana Saberi Age
She was born on April 26, 1977, in Belleville, New Jersey, United States. She is 42 years old as of 2019.
Roxana Saberi Parents
She is the daughter of Reza Saberi, who was born in Iran, and Akiko Saberi, an immigrant from Japan.
Roxana Saberi Husband
During her arrest, it was rumored that, Iranian filmmaker, Bahman Ghobadi was her boyfriend, for he really supported her. But her father refused to recognize him as her fiancé. She has not commented on these claims, either Bahman. She is still single.
Roxana Saberi CBS
In 2003, she moved to Iran. Her reports were distributed by US-based Feature Story News (FSN), and her work was viewed and listened to from Channel News Asia, DW Radio, South African Broadcasting, Vatican Radio, Australian Independent Radio News, Radio New Zealand, and others. She made occasional contributions to NPR, PBS, and Fox News.
The Iranian authorities revoked her press accreditation In 2006 and closed the FSN bureau in Iran. She maintained a second press accreditation, permitting her to freelance in Iran for the BBC, which was also revoked. She continued to file occasional reports from the country for IPS, NPR, and ABC Radio but cut ties with the BBC.
Roxana Saberi Book
Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran
On the morning of January 31, 2009, Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist working in Iran, was forced from her home by four men and secretly detained in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. The intelligence agents who captured her accused her of espionage — a charge she denied. … Google Books
Originally published: 30 March 2010
Genres: Biography, Autobiography
What Law Did Roxana Saberi Break
She was arrested on Jan. 31 2009 in an Iranian prison for four months and returned to the United States on May 22 that same year. She did not speak to the media at length about her ordeal, during which she says she faced “severe psychological and mental pressure” to confess to being a spy.
She told NPR about the events that led to her arrest, why she gave a false confession, and she takes on evidence that was used against her that resulted in a speedy trial on April 13. Saberi was sentenced to eight years in prison by an Iranian court. She was later freed after her sentence was reduced to a suspended two-year term. She tells NPR that to this day she doesn’t know why she was arrested — or why she was freed.
Roxana Saberi Quotes
“Roxana, when you go back to America, please tell others that our country is not only about the nuclear issue–it’s also about people like us.” — my former cellmate, Mahvash Sabet, who is serving 20 years in prison in Iran as one of the leaders of the minority Baha’i faith”
Roxana Saberi Twitter
Roxana Saberi: “My Life As…” (Excerpt: A Woman Reporting in Iran)
”The Syrian Situation Is Sending a Message to the Iranians”
The Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi was sentenced to an eight-year prison term on bogus espionage charges in Iran in 2009. She was released following the intervention of US president Barack Obama. Saberi does not believe that the presidential elections in Iran on 14 June will bring major political changes. An interview by Tobias Köberlein.
Mrs. Saberi, you lived in Iran for six years before you had to leave the country following your release from Evin prison in Teheran. What do you miss the most?
Roxana Saberi: I think Iran is very mysterious for outsiders, but what I miss the most are the people, the friends I made there. They are so hospitable and curious. Many of them want better relations with Americans, with the outside world.
Recently you were blogging about handmade presents you were given by your former cellmates: a purse and a bracelet knotted together from the threads of your old towel in prison. How do you keep in touch with them?
Roxana Saberi: I don’t have contact with them directly, but somehow these presents made their way to me indirectly. It took a couple of years. I think they made them in 2011 and I just got them recently.
Has your experience in prison influenced or changed your work as a journalist?
Roxana Saberi: Yes, in some way I focus more on the human rights issues, for example the attorneys who are jailed in Iran, journalists who get imprisoned. I hadn’t focused on them so much, because I didn’t understand what it felt like to have your rights taken away from you.
Do you think it is possible to work as a correspondent in Iran without getting into trouble sooner or later?
Roxana Saberi: If you want to stay there for a long time you have to be very cautious. You need to consider your relations with the government. Sometimes the intelligence ministry might threaten you or interrogate you or interrogate the people you work with. When you work for a TV station there’s an added complication. The authorities are very sensitive about what you film. I think journalism involves calculated risks. If journalists feel that they have taken the precautions and they are able to go and work in Iran that’s wonderful, but they will face a lot of limits. It’s a choice whether you’re going to work there and censor yourself or not work there at all.
How would you describe the situation of the press in Iran, especially now considering the upcoming presidential elections?
Roxana Saberi: It has deteriorated a lot in the past four years and just earlier this year. There’s a wave of arrests of journalists. It can be seen as a premonition for journalists reporting on the elections or reporting on certain aspects of the elections. At least 40 journalists are in jail. Many of them are under great psychological pressure. Some have reported physical torture, sometimes they are in solitary confinement for a long time or don’t have proper access to their attorneys. So it’s a very dire situation for journalists.
Many publications too are censored or shut down. It’s been ongoing since 2009. According to Reporters without Borders, at least 200 journalists have fled the country. One reason why all these journalists were jailed is to send a message to them: You have to be careful, we are watching you.
What measures does the government take to restrict the access of Iranians to information?
Roxana Saberi: Sometimes they slow down the speed of the internet a great deal, so it’s very hard to open web pages or emails. Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are filtered. Satellite TV signals coming from outside Iran are often jammed. The government also uses technologies to monitor Iranians’ communications as well. Works of art like films have to get permission from the cultural ministry to be made, to be published or to be aired in Iranian theatres.
What do you expect from the presidential elections? Is there any hope for real change with the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei having almost absolute power?
Roxana Saberi: Khamenei has the final say on all matters, that’s true, but I do think the president has still some influence. I say that because I lived in Iran during Khatami’s time and Ahmadinejad’s time and I saw how things changed in many ways. Social freedoms, political freedoms and also the economy deteriorated. I don’t know if any of the candidates who are running can bring great change, but maybe there will be different degrees of change.
For example?
Roxana Saberi: Hopefully there will be the opportunity for some minor freedoms. I don’t imagine that they’re going to free all political prisoners, but you can always hope for some positive changes. Iran is so unpredictable. I like to say that the only predictable thing about Iran is that it is unpredictable.
Many publications too are censored or shut down. It’s been ongoing since 2009. According to Reporters without Borders, at least 200 journalists have fled the country. One reason why all these journalists were jailed is to send a message to them: You have to be careful, we are watching you.
What measures does the government take to restrict the access of Iranians to information?
Roxana Saberi: Sometimes they slow down the speed of the internet a great deal, so it’s very hard to open web pages or emails. Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are filtered. Satellite TV signals coming from outside Iran are often jammed. The government also uses technologies to monitor Iranians’ communications as well. Works of art like films have to get permission from the cultural ministry to be made, to be published or to be aired in Iranian theatres.
What do you expect from the presidential elections? Is there any hope for real change with the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei having almost absolute power?
Roxana Saberi: Khamenei has the final say on all matters, that’s true, but I do think the president has still some influence. I say that because I lived in Iran during Khatami’s time and Ahmadinejad’s time and I saw how things changed in many ways. Social freedoms, political freedoms and also the economy deteriorated. I don’t know if any of the candidates who are running can bring great change, but maybe there will be different degrees of change.
For example?
Roxana Saberi: Hopefully there will be the opportunity for some minor freedoms. I don’t imagine that they’re going to free all political prisoners, but you can always hope for some positive changes. Iran is so unpredictable. I like to say that the only predictable thing about Iran is that it is unpredictable.
Source: en.qantara.de
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