http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8006861.stm
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said an Iranian-American journalist jailed for spying must have her legal right to defend herself.
The request came in a letter from his office to Tehran's prosecutor, state media reported, a day after Roxana Saberi was jailed for eight years.
The US has expressed dismay over the 31-year-old's sentencing at a secret one-day trial in Tehran.
Our Tehran correspondent says it is an unusual intervention by Mr Ahmadinejad.
Ms Saberi's lawyer has said he will lodge an appeal.
The reporter, who was arrested in January and went on trial this week, denies the charge and plans to go on hunger strike, her father Reza has said.
Ms Saberi's mother Akiko expressed concern for her daughter's health, saying she was "very, very frail."
She said it was hard to believe how a country could treat a human being like this.
President's letter
Mr Ahmadinejad said the rights of Ms Saberi and jailed Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, who has been behind bars since November, must not be violated in any way.
"Please take the necessary measures to ensure that the process of examining the charges against the aforementioned individuals are being carried out carefully and fairness, justice and regulations are observed," he wrote in the letter to prosecutors.
"Please, personally observe the process to ensure that the defendants are allowed all legal rights and freedom in defending themselves and that their rights are not violated even by one iota," reported Iranian official government news agency Irna.
US President Barack Obama was "deeply disappointed" at the sentencing, his spokesman said on Saturday.
The verdict came despite calls by the Obama administration for Ms Saberi's release and diplomatic overtures to Iran after three decades of severed ties.
Hardliners hijack?
It raises suspicions over whether the case has been hijacked by hardliners within the Iranian government, eager to sabotage any reconciliation, the BBC's Jon Leyne reports from Tehran.
He says it is not clear if the Iranian president is suggesting due legal process has not been followed, or if he is generally emphasising the importance of fairness in such sensitive cases.
Senators from Ms Saberi's home state of North Dakota described the court ruling as a shocking miscarriage of justice that would damage Iran's international credibility.
She has reported for a number of foreign news organisations including the BBC, NPR and Fox News.
The journalist originally faced the less serious accusation of buying alcohol, and later of working as a journalist without a valid press card.
Then, in a period of less than two weeks, the charge of spying was introduced, and she was tried by the Revolutionary Court and sentenced.
A US-Iranian national, Ms Saberi has spent six years in Iran studying and writing a book.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/8006861.stm
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Education for Liberation!
Peter S. Lopez ~aka: Peta
Sacramento, California, Aztlan
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Humane-Rights-Agenda/
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