Providing context on the case

Borzou Daragahi, whom we interviewed for this site, has published a piece with some additional information about the charges leveled against Roxana.  The information about the underlying acts Roxana stood accused of committing provides extra context on the whole case.

Read it here at The LA Times.

The New York Times “Room For Debate” blog featured guests weighing in on why Iran freed Roxana and what the release means on a macro political level.  You are going to see, if you haven’t already, many of these what does it all mean pieces in the next few days, but the NY Times kicked it off with some interesting perspectives.  

Read the “Room For Debate” blog discussion

"There is no wine involved in this," says LA Times reporter

Interview with reporter Borzou Daragahi of the Los Angeles Times

Joseph Freeman speaks with Borzou Daragahi, Middle East correspondent for the LA Times. Daragahi has worked with Roxana and has reported from Iran. In this interview, he assesses Roxana’s case and breaks down aspects of Iranian law related to alcohol and press credentials, both of which he posits have little to do with her arrest and detention in Evin prison. For a highly informative article on defense attorneys working within Iran’s judiciary system, read this piece Daragahi wrote in 2007.

Azadeh Moaveni is another reporter who like Daragahi and Saberi has both American and Iranian ties.  Apropos of attempting to gain context on the culture, history and political atmosphere of Iran, read her new book Honeymoon In Iran, reviewed in the New York Times today.

Saberi's case stirs up forgotten detentions, and Iran charges Web sites with "foreign-funded plot"

The New York Times reported Saturday that owing to the efforts and public attention given to Roxana’s case, new plans are under way to investigate the disappearance two years ago of former F.B.I. agent Robert Levinson, as well as two other missing Americans imprisoned in Iran.  Roxana’s ordeal importantly reminds us that there are others who are also dealing with the hardships of detention.

In an equally germane story, the cyber-crimes unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has gone on the offensive against certain news outlets in the country, including Web sites and magazines, charging them with a “Dutch-funded plot” to undermine the regime.  Borzou Daragahi, who has worked with Roxana before, reports on the charges for the Los Angeles Times.