Jailed American Gets Support From Iran’s President Ahmadinejad Due To Recent U.S. Overtures

[ClarkUSA]

Wow, what a CHANGE President Obama has made in our relations with Iran.

11:19 a.m. : One day after Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist, was sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage, following a one-day trial behind closed doors in Tehran, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reports that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to Tehran’s chief prosecutor instructing him to ensure that Ms. Saberi is given the opportunity to present a full defense... Observers have speculated that Ms. Saberi’s case is now part of a struggle taking place inside the opaque world of Iran’s complex government over how to respond to recent overtures from the United States to repair relations.

As Nazila Fathi reported in The Times on Saturday, Ms. Saberi’s lawyer, Abdolsamad Khoramshahi, “told the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, that he had been told he could appeal the case, and said he would.”... IRNA said the letter from Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff, Abdolreza Sheikholeslami, to prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi dealt with Saberi’s case as well as that of detained Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan.

“Based on the president’s insistence, please make sure that all the legal stages about the mentioned people be based on justice,” the letter said. ” … and you personally make sure that the accused people will enjoy all freedoms and legal rights to defend themselves and their rights will not be violated,” it added.

Ms. Saberi’s lawyer, Mr. Khorramshahi, told Reuters on Sunday: “We also want what the president wants, especially regarding making meeting my client easier, and also we want them (the judiciary) to be more accurate at the appeals stage.” Mr. Khorramshahi added that Iran’s most famous human-rights lawyer, Shirin Ebadi, is joining the legal team defending Ms. Saberi. In 2003, Ms. Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize but, as we’ve reported here on The Lede, more recently her ability to work has been restricted by the Iranian authorities.

[Kdillard]

1. Oh so diplomacy works. Who knew with the morans on my

tv saying Obama is soft etc, etc. Hopefully this is another step in the right direction with our relationship with Iran and this journalist will be released.

[Cha]

2. Diplomacy and the Big Picuture

works which seems very hard for some to comprehend.

[ClarkUSA]

3. Yeah, funny how courtesy and respect gets results, eh?

Hopefully this is another step in the right direction with our relationship with Iran and this jornalist will be released.

I believe there's a good chance our mutual hope will be realized.

[Kdillard]

5. I am just in a state of shock everytime I listen to our media and the

RW shills they have on the programs. I shudder to think how the Bush administration would have handled this matter not to mention John Bomb, Bomb McCain. I am just thankful we have someone sane in charge. After only three months in office he is already changing the game and the way in which Iran has to deal with us.

[ClarkUSA]

6. I know. It's like living in an alternative political universe after BushCo.

I shudder to think how the Bush administration would have handled this matter not to mention John Bomb, bomb McCain. I am just thnakful we have someone sane in charge. After only three months in office he is already changing the game and the way in which Iran has to deal with us.

I think about that and also am glad this particular Democratic candidate won because he was the only one who was anti-war
from before the beginning of the Iraq war. Like the majority of the world's citizens, I trust Barack's instincts and his political
guts to do the right thing. :hi:

[AtomicKitten]

4. Common courtesy trumps inflammatory rhetoric and bullying.

Who'd a thunk, huh? ;)

[ClarkUSA]

7. Yeah, those saber-rattling warmongering pols who dissed Barack last year look stupid now, eh?

Ah, so this is what we worked so hard for. ;)

[burning rain]

15. NO! If hero John McCain had been elected president,....

no-one would dare jail Americans (except other Americans, that is), because foreign devils would fear hero John McCain for his tough and manly talk, and sword of justice.

Or something like that.

[ClarkUSA]

17. lol!

We can laugh about it now but Democrats really owe him one for choosing Palin and ruining the mainstream appeal of the
Republican Party for another generation. Maybe I should send his Senate office an email saying so. :P

[burning rain]

21. He really screwed the pooch with that one.

That dude will go to his grave knowing he sold out his own preferences in a bid to win votes, and it ended up costing him votes instead. That is some kind of reverse twofer.

[Clio the Leo]

8. I'm hoping this will give BOTH countries an excuse to begin a dialogue...

... as even the most far right wing GOP whack jobs cant fault the administration for using diplomacy to "rescue" an American citizen.

[ClarkUSA]

9. That's a good way to look at it. I'm sure it has.

even the most far right wing GOP whack jobs cant fault the administration for using diplomacy to "rescue" an American citizen

I'm sure they'll find a way, just like they did with Captain Phillips, although maybe they'll be a little more careful about it this time,
given how stupid they looked when President Obama ordered that successful hit on those pirates and then was totally humble
about taking credit.

[Clio the Leo]

10. Yeah, I put too much faith in them....

... I just peaked over at Freeptopia and they're already starting to .... guess what! .... question the "TRUE" nationality of the reporter, whether she's natural born or naturalized.

Do these fools not realize how many naturalized .... and even non-citizen immigrants gave their full measure of devotion to protect the very freedom those idiots hold dear? Do they not realize the red stripes on our flag represent the blood stains of people from ALL over the world?

Shameful.

[ClarkUSA]

14. The GOP are increasingly being marginalizing themselves, which is benefitting the Democratic Party.

... I just peaked over at Freeptopia and they're already starting to .... guess what! .... question the "TRUE" nationality of the reporter, whether she's natural born or naturalized.

Do these fools not realize how many naturalized .... and even non-citizen immigrants gave their full measure of devotion to protect the very freedom those idiots hold dear? Do they not realize the red stripes on our flag represent the blood stains of people from ALL over the world?

I hear ya. The good news is that the more they reveal their racist, ignorant hatred of the American values that made this
country great, the more moderate Republicans and independents vote Democratic. The more the Republican base reflect
the ugly rhetoric of their leader Rush Limbaugh, the greater the likelihood that 2010 will give Democrats a filibuster-proof
majority in the Senate +1 or 2 (unfortunately, that includes Evan Bayh and his RINO brethren).

[Danger Mouse]

11. Something tells me that this incident will be a large part of what thaws relations between us...

at long last.

[ClarkUSA]

18. At the very least, it's a step in the right direction. After all, many FP experts believe that...

... Iran is our natural ally against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban since they are Shia.

[burning rain]

12. Is I'm-a-dinner-jacket adjusting to a changed political landscape?

It's a funny world where Iran's official theocrats on the Guardian Council are more moderate in a lot of ways than the lay president, but that's how it is.

[ClarkUSA]

19. He has to... or else he'll likely lose the upcoming election or be replaced by the Supreme Leader.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamene'i understands that bluster and bluff is no longer going to get Iran much admiration anymore
now that BushCo is out.

[burning rain]

22. It's a tough job making the US appear as a robust, vigorous democracy,....

but Iran has proven itself fit to the task, and credit to them for that! :)

[EFerrari]

13. Excellent news! Thank goodness we have a new president. n/t

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

16. Ahmadinejad, who while he talks like a rabid racoon, is not a fool.

It's hard to call America the great satan when you have a president as reasonable as Obama. Ahmadinejad, I think understands that to remain in power he's going to have to moderate. We've been seeing this in alot of our old "enemies". Only North Korea seems to not have a clue.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6062688.ece

[burning rain]

20. Man, the Hermit Kingdom isn't called that for nothing.

^