Jailed US reporter's dad to stay in Iran

The father of a US reporter jailed in Tehran has said he planned to stay in the Iranian capital until his daughter's case is resolved. 
   
"I am planning to stay here. If (it)  takes very long, then my wife might return to the States. But I will stay here until this case is resolved," Reza Saberi told US National Public Radio (NPR) yesterday.
Saberi and his wife, Akiko, who arrived in Tehran on Sunday to pursue their daughter's case, had a 20-minute meeting with her on Monday in Tehran's Evin prison.

Reza Saberi told NPR his daughter Roxana, 31, was surprised by their visit, and that she looked pale and weak but was in good spirits. He said she was allowed to see local television channels and that she requested books to read.

She also wanted to see her lawyer "to point out ... that apparently some of the statements were made under pressure, under threat, you know. So that they were not valid," he said.

US-born Roxana Saberi, who also holds an Iranian passport and has reported for NPR, the BBC and Fox News, had been living in Iran for six years when she was arrested in late January, reportedly on charges of buying alcohol, which is prohibited in the Islamic republic.

Reza Saberi said he and his wife would try to visit their daughter once a week.