April 22
US civil rights activist Jesse Jackson plans to visit Iran to push for the release of jailed US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi.
“We have applied for visas today and we hope we will be granted entry, and if so we want to make a humanitarian plea, a moral appeal to gain the release of the journalist,” he said on a visit to Malaysia.Saberi, 31, was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment last week by an Iranian revolutionary court that convicted her of spying for the United States.
In an unprecedented move on Sunday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for “justice” for Saberi and said she should be given the right to defend herself.
Jackson said no date had been set yet for his mission, which he said would complement the appeals already made by US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“I hope the Iranian leadership will accept our mercy appeal and let her go,” he said, urging Malaysians to use any connections with Iran, a fellow Muslim nation.
“If you have access to a voice in Iran, whether religious or political, join with us in making a plea to release that young woman from prison,” he said.
Jackson, who has been involved in US hostage negotiations in the past, is in Malaysia to address a peace conference.
Source:The Australian
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