Detained US reporter meets parents in Iran prison

The parents of US journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been held in Iranian custody since January, visited her at a notorious Tehran prison on Monday, her lawyer and a family friend told AFP.

"I was with them (Reza and Akiko Saberi) and took them to prison to see her," Saberi's lawyer Abdolsamad Khoramshahi said. "I am waiting for them to call and tell me about the meeting."

The Saberis arrived in Tehran on Sunday to pursue the case of their daughter who has been detained in Evin prison on charges still to be revealed by Iranian authorities.

A family friend said the parents met Saberi for 20 minutes in the presence of a prison guard.

"They told me that she was okay and has been given access to a television and books in the prison," said the friend, who asked not to be named.

The Iranian foreign ministry said in March that Saberi had been working "illegally" in the country after her press card was revoked in 2006.

Khoramshahi said on Sunday that Saberi has been indicted and her case will be dealt with in a Tehran revolutionary court following completion of a preliminary investigation, although he did not know the charges.

Tehran's revolutionary court tries prisoners accused of acting against national security. The presiding judge will decide whether to put Saberi on trial.

US-born Saberi, who also holds an Iranian passport, was arrested for allegedly buying alcohol, which is prohibited in the Islamic republic.

Last month her parents appealed to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for her release, saying the 31-year-old reporter was in a "dangerous" state of mental health.

Washington has repeatedly called on Tehran to release the 31-year-old journalist who has reported for National Public Radio, the BBC and Fox News, living in Iran for the past six years.

Iran, which does not recognise dual nationality and has had no ties with the United States for three decades, has detained several Iranian-Americans, including academics, in recent years.