Dozens of members of Reporters Without Borders USA went on a day-long hunger strike in New York City to protest the imprisonment of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.
They also called for the release of American reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee, held in North Korea, on Sunday, which was World Press Freedom Day.
It was wet and rainy, but friends and fellow journalists had a very clear message for officials in North Korea and Iran: release our journalists.
"She's the most outstanding young woman and journalist you'd ever want to meet," said David Oyama, Saberi's good friend and special writer for the Wall Street Journal. "The possibility of her being a spy are zero, the charges against her are baseless."
“Roxana has been considerably weakened by her hunger strike and, like her family, we are very concerned for her health,” Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. “We are therefore symbolically taking over her hunger strike in a gesture of solidarity, so that she does not have to continue it herself.”
Saberi’s father, Reza Saberi, confirmed on April 26 that she was on hunger strike. After visiting her in Tehran’s Evin prison, he said she appeared “much weaker” but was “determined and ready to go all the way.” Since then, the Iranian authorities have been applying a great deal of pressure on Roxana’s parents to get them to deny that their daughter is on hunger strike.
Seven journalists and two bloggers are currently imprisoned in Iran, which was ranked 166th out of 173 countries in the 2008 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. North Korea was ranked 172nd, second to the bottom.
“We appeal to all those who care about the defense of human rights and freedom worldwide to join us in New York City, and to sign the petition and the book for messages of support for Roxana, Laura and Euna,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Roxana Saberi needs to know she is not alone, and that she can now stop her hunger strike. We will not abandon her. Laura and Euna need to know that they have not been forgotten, that people abroad are working for their release. We deplore the way the authorities are treating these two women as criminals when in fact they were just doing their job as journalists.”
The members of Reporters Without Borders USA will be stationed from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the park below Tudor City, in front of the UN headquarters (on 42nd Street and 1st Avenue), which hosts the Iranian and North Korean representations to the United Nations.
