Iran should free Iranian-American journalist, urges Obama

Port of Spain & Tehran: US President Barack Obama said on Sunday he was "deeply concerned" for the safety of imprisoned Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi and urged Tehran to free her, saying he was confident she was not involved in spying.

"Obviously I'm gravely concerned with her safety and well being," Obama told a news conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where he was attending the Fifth Summit of the Americas.

"We are working to make sure that she is properly treated and to get information about the disposition of her case. She is an American citizen and I have complete confidence that she was not engaging in any sort espionage," he added. "She is an Iranian-American who was interested in the country which her family came from and it is appropriate for her to be treated as such and be released."

He said Washington would be in touch with Tehran about the case through Swiss intermediaries.

In Tehran, hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the American journalist convicted of spying for the US should be allowed to offer a full defense during her appeal, a day after she was sentenced to eight years in prison.

The message was a sign that Iran's leadership does not want the case to derail moves toward a dialogue with the Obama administration to break a 30-year diplomatic deadlock.

Ahmadinejad sent a letter to Tehran's chief prosecutor instructing him to personally ensure that "suspects be given all their rights to defend themselves" against the charges. "Prepare for the court proceedings ... to observe and apply justice precisely," the state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.

Saberi, is a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen. It was the first time Iran has found an American journalist guilty of espionage, and her lawyer said he'll appeal.