---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jack Doppelt
Date: Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 3:18 PM
Subject: Re: Medill Alum Roxana Saberi held in Iran
To: MEDILLALUMS
Alums - Roxana Saberi, a Medill and Northwestern alumna (MSJ 1999), has been
arrested and detained in Iran. She has been in custody for about a month,
though information about her disappearance surfaced publicly only this past
weekend. I have been in touch with her parents who live in North Dakota,
where she grew up. They have spoken with Roxana only once since her arrest,
and are quite concerned about her situation. I am too. Roxana has been in
Iran for six years, reporting for a range of news organizations, including
NPR, BBC and FSN (Feature Story News), whose news bureau she set up there. News accounts indicate that today (Tuesday) a spokesman for the Iranian
judiciary confirmed that Roxana is being held but did not know what the
charges against her are. Roxana is a talented and committed journalist, and
a person of warmth and good will. She is someone who deserves our attention,
support and thoughts. Please read about her situation on the web, and let me also direct you to a
petition drive that is being organized on facebook by the Committee to
Protect Journalists. I have signed the petition and I encourage you to do so
too. You can find it at
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/99?m=2011278e&recruiter_id=16717410.
Date: Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 3:18 PM
Subject: Re: Medill Alum Roxana Saberi held in Iran
To: MEDILLALUMS
Alums - Roxana Saberi, a Medill and Northwestern alumna (MSJ 1999), has been
arrested and detained in Iran. She has been in custody for about a month,
though information about her disappearance surfaced publicly only this past
weekend. I have been in touch with her parents who live in North Dakota,
where she grew up. They have spoken with Roxana only once since her arrest,
and are quite concerned about her situation. I am too. Roxana has been in
Iran for six years, reporting for a range of news organizations, including
NPR, BBC and FSN (Feature Story News), whose news bureau she set up there. News accounts indicate that today (Tuesday) a spokesman for the Iranian
judiciary confirmed that Roxana is being held but did not know what the
charges against her are. Roxana is a talented and committed journalist, and
a person of warmth and good will. She is someone who deserves our attention,
support and thoughts. Please read about her situation on the web, and let me also direct you to a
petition drive that is being organized on facebook by the Committee to
Protect Journalists. I have signed the petition and I encourage you to do so
too. You can find it at
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/99?m=2011278e&recruiter_id=16717410.
The petition drive encourages friends, supporters and fellow journalists
to sign a letter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requesting his
intervention. The petition will be forwarded to him via the Mission of the
Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, and states the following:
"Dear Mr. President, We, the friends and colleagues of freelance journalist Roxana Saberi, join
with the Committee to Protect Journalists in expressing our deep concern
about her arrest and detention. Saberi, a U.S. citizen who has lived in Iran
for six years, has been held without charge since the end of January. She
has not been heard from since February 10. We urge you to immediately investigate the details of her case and call on
you to use all measures afforded you as president to ensure that Saberi has
access to an attorney and receives due process. We ask that the charges
against her are made public. If no charges are filed, we urge you to ensure
that she is released immediately. Sincerely,
The Undersigned" Please join me in expressing concern and support for Roxana. Jack Doppelt
to sign a letter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requesting his
intervention. The petition will be forwarded to him via the Mission of the
Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, and states the following:
"Dear Mr. President, We, the friends and colleagues of freelance journalist Roxana Saberi, join
with the Committee to Protect Journalists in expressing our deep concern
about her arrest and detention. Saberi, a U.S. citizen who has lived in Iran
for six years, has been held without charge since the end of January. She
has not been heard from since February 10. We urge you to immediately investigate the details of her case and call on
you to use all measures afforded you as president to ensure that Saberi has
access to an attorney and receives due process. We ask that the charges
against her are made public. If no charges are filed, we urge you to ensure
that she is released immediately. Sincerely,
The Undersigned" Please join me in expressing concern and support for Roxana. Jack Doppelt
Professor, Medill School of Journalism
Northwestern University
Northwestern University