American Journalist is Freed From Iranian Prison

Reza Saberi, the father of Iranian-American reporter Roxana Saberi, waits with his family outside Tehran's Evin prison for the release of their daughter.

American journalist Roxana Saberi was freed from an Iranian prison Monday after an appeals court suspended her eight-year sentence on charges of spying for the U.S., The Associated Press reports.

Saberi, 32, had been jailed for four months in Tehran's Evin Prison. The dual Iranian-American, who was raised in North Dakota, was reunited with her parents, who vowed to quickly bring her home to the U.S.

Saberi was released after an appeals court reduced her jail term to a two-year suspended sentence. A spokesman for Iran's judiciary said Saberi was free to leave Iran.

In April, Saberi was convicted of spying and sentenced to eight years in prison after being tried in a one-day, closed-door trial in Iran. It was the first time Iran had convicted an American journalist of spying.

Iranian officials originally said Saberi was arrested for working as a reporter after the government revoked her press credentials in 2006. She was later charged with espionage.

Saberi, a former Miss North Dakota who was a finalist in the Miss America pageant, was born in the United States and has lived in Iran for six years. She has worked as a freelance journalist for NPR, the BBC and other news outlets. Her father is from Iran.

Saberi's release clears a major hurdle in President Obama's efforts to restart talks with Iran. Washington had repeatedly demanded that she be freed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed Saberi's release, but said at least five other journalists remain imprisoned in Iran. Journalist Omidreza Mirsayafi died in prison in March under suspicious circumstances.

You can read more about Saberi's case and that of other "Reporters Under Fire" here.

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