Iranian Foreign Ministry says activities of US journalist 'illegal'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday said a US journalist who was recently detained in Iran was engaged in "illegal" activities because she continued working in the country after the government revoked her press credentials in 2006. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi did not specify why Roxana Saberi's credentials were revoked and refused to say whether she was in prison. Saberi's father, Reza, said Sunday his 31-year-old daughter told him on February 10 that she was detained after buying a bottle of wine, which is illegal in Iran. He has not heard from her since. Roxana Saberi is a freelance journalist who has reported for National Public Radio and other media and has lived in Iran for six years.