Freed reporter Roxana Saberi lands in Vienna

Vienna. A US-Iranian journalist thrown in jail in Iran for spying has made a shock visit to Vienna after a top Austrian diplomat helped free her. Roxana Saberi, 32, was freed from an Iranian jail this week after being sentenced for eight years on spying charges.

Saberi, who was born to an Iranian father and a Japanese mother in the US, worked for Fox News and the BBC before authorities revoked her accreditation in 2006. But she was arrested and sentenced to eight years in jail in February after continuing to work as a reporter. She was released on Monday following an appeal court ruling that reduced her sentence to two years. She had been expected to head straight back to the US but instead she arrived in the Austrian capital on Friday with her parents, saying she had come to Vienna to spend a few days "because it is a quiet and relaxing place.”

And she revealed that Michael Postl, the Austrian Ambassador in Tehran, has had played a key role in negotiations to free her.

Saberi, who is reportedly "doing well and is very happy”, said she decided to come to Vienna.

Printausgabe vom Samstag, 16. Mai 2009
Online seit: Freitag, 15. Mai 2009 18:15:00