An Iranian revolutionary court has sentenced US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi to eight years in jail on charges of spying for the United States, her lawyer said on Saturday. The verdict - the harshest sentence ever meted out to a dual national on security charges in Iran - was greeted with shock by her father, who said Saberi had been "tricked" into confessing.
Saberi, 31, has been detained in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran since January and went on trial behind closed doors on Monday accused of spying for the United States. "Ms Saberi has been sentenced to eight years in jail and I am going to appeal," her lawyer Abdolsamad Khoramshahi told AFP. Under Iranian law, the verdict can be appealed within 20 days.
The case against Saberi, who has both US and Iranian nationality, has raised deep concerns in Washington and among rights groups. She was initially reported to have been detained for buying alcohol, an illegal act in the Islamic republic.