WASHINGTON (AP) -- Leaders of seven media outlets demanded in a letter Tuesday that international organizations be allowed access to an American journalist detained in Iran, and that any charges against her be made public.
In the statement, they urged that one or more groups be allowed to evaluate her health and well-being as well as the conditions under which Roxana Saberi, 31, is being held.
In addition, they asked that any charges against Saberi be made public. If none are filed, they are urging that she be released immediately and be granted permission to return to the U.S.
The statement was signed by Vivian Schiller, president and CEO of NPR; David L. Westin, president of ABC News; Jon Williams, world editor of BBC News; Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS; Robert Thomson, editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal; John Stack, vice president of newsgathering of Fox News Channel; and Simon Marks, president of Feature Story News.
"I'm happy to see that," Saberi's father, Reza, said in Fargo. "I hope that it will have a positive influence on the situation."
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Reza Saberi said he spoke with his lawyer Tuesday. "He's trying to find out what they want for releasing her. He wants to find out if they have an exact date in mind or any conditions," Reza said.
In a message Schiller sent to NPR employees Tuesday, she said that although Saberi is not an NPR employee, "she has filed for us regularly and we are concerned about her well-being."
"Along with our colleagues from other major news organizations we also believe it is important for us to take a stand on behalf of journalists whose freedom to report the news and inform the public is limited without due process," Schiller said.
Saberi is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Iran and has reported for NPR, ABC, BBC and other media, according to the joint statement. She was pursuing a master's degree in Iranian studies and international relations, and was writing a book about Iran, the statement said.
Iranian officials have said the freelance journalist, who was detained about a month ago, was engaged in "illegal" activities because she continued working in Iran after the government revoked her press credentials in 2006. A spokesman for the Iranian judiciary has said she was being held in Evin prison north of Tehran.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has called for Saberi's release.
An attorney sent by Saberi's father said she showed no signs of physical torture during a visit Sunday. Her parents have not heard from her since Feb. 10.
Saberi, who was born in the United States to her Iranian father and Japanese mother and grew up in Fargo, N.D., has lived in Iran for six years.
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Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting journalists and suppressing freedom of speech. The government has arrested several Iranian-Americans in the past few years, citing alleged attempts to overthrow its Islamic regime.
