Ban welcomes release of journalist Roxana Saberi from Iranian jail

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the release from an Iranian prison of journalist Roxana Saberi, who was convicted of spying for the United States, a United Nations spokesperson said today.

“He had discussed the matter on several occasions with the Government of Iran, most recently with President Ahmadinejad in Geneva, and he is pleased that the case has been resolved,” Farhan Haq told a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York.

Ms. Saberi, a 32-year-old who has dual US-Iranian citizenship, was convicted last month of spying for the US and sentenced to eight years in prison, according to media reports.

She was freed from prison on Monday after an appeals court reduced her jail term to a two-year suspended sentence.