Roxana Saberi is free. And it's in part due to your voice. By signing the IWMF petition for Saberi's release, you joined with individuals and groups all over the world calling for her to be freed from prison in Iran.

When she was released on May 11, this persistence paid off, and as a result, we're one step closer to worldwide press freedom. 

Thanks for your help. Click here to leave a comment for Saberi to welcome her back to the U.S.

Join the IWMF network and support press freedom worldwide.

The IWMF will receive a collective honorary doctorate degree in journalism from Dickinson College at the school’s commencement ceremony on May 17. IWMF board member Christiane Amanpour, chief international correspondent for CNN, will accept the degree on behalf of the organization. Amanpour will also deliver the commencement address during the ceremony. Read more on Dickinson’s Web site.

Roxana Saberi, an American journalist who had been imprisoned since January, thanked her supporters on May 12 and said she’s glad to be reunited with her family. Saberi was released from prison on May 11 after the spying charges she was convicted on were dropped. She plans to return to the U.S. Read the New York Times article.

The IWMF filed a “friend of the court” letter on behalf of Roxana Saberi, arguing that Saberi’s “continued imprisonment violates the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as we understand it, and also violates universal notions of free speech, free press and due process,” on May 9, the same day that an appeals court began hearing her case and decided to free her. 

The letter was faxed to Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, head of the Iranian judiciary. It was written on behalf of the IWMF by board member Theodore J. Boutros, Jr. and KatieLynn Townsend of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher.   

Full Letter
New York Times Article Today

 

 

 

GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP
Lawyers

A REGISTERED LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIP
INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL CORPORATIONS

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333 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90071-3197

(213) 229-7000

www.gibsondunn.com

Shirley M. Carswell will become deputy managing editor of The Washington Post on May 18. In her new position, Carswell will oversee personnel, administration, research and newsroom technology as The Post seeks to transform itself amid the technological and economic upheavals sweeping the newspaper industry. Read more in The Washington Post.

Liza Gross, interim executive director of the IWMF, spoke at a World Press Freedom Day rally in New York on May 3 in front of the United Nations headquarters. Together with Reporters Without Borders, Gross called for the release of Roxana Saberi, an American journalist convicted of spying in Iran, and Euna Lee and Laura Ling, American journalists who have been detained in North Korea since January. Read more on the UN Radio Web site. 

Jestina Mukoko, a former journalist who is a human rights activist, was freed on bail after Zimbabwe's president and prime minister forced a judge to reverse a decision to send her back to the prison where she claimed she had been tortured. Read the Washington Post article.

Roxana Saberi, an American journalist who has been convicted of spying for the U.S. in Iran, will appeal her case next week in an Iranian court. Saberi has been on a hunger strike for about two weeks. Read the Washington Post article.

IWMF board member Eleanor Clift will emcee the 2009 Matrix Awards for Professional Achievements. The event, to be held on May 14 at the National Press Club, will honor Michelle Singletary, nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, and Kate Perrin, CEO of PRofessional Solutions, LLC. IWMF members receive a discount. Read more or register on the AWC Web site.

Ann Curry, an IWMF board member and NBC anchor, will speak at a luncheon at the International Reporting Media Summit, to be held May 15 in New York. Former IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner Sandra Nyaira will be a panelist at the event. Registration is free, but space is limited. RSVP to lpitterson@interaction.org. Read more on the Interaction Web site.

It’s not easy balancing motherhood with a career. The IWMF assists pioneering women journalists around the world – many of whom are mothers – to become effective leaders in the news media. Our Leadership Institutes for Women Journalists help give women the tools they need to succeed, including seminars on work-life balance.

Help support the IWMF’s training of women journalists by shopping online for your Mother’s Day gifts using GoodShop. Click through to your favorite stores and shop as usual. It takes just a few seconds, and a percentage of your purchase will go to the IWMF.

Hundreds of stores – including Target, Gap, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Macy’s and Amazon – have teamed up with GoodShop, and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting us at no additional cost!

A Zimbabwean ordered Jestina Mukoko, a former journalist who is a human rights activist, back to jail on May 5. She was indicted on charges related to an alleged plan to sabotage President Robert Mugabe. Read the CNN article.

Because of your votes, the IWMF won a 2009 People’s Voice Webby Award for best Web site in the associations category. Thank you! We couldn’t have done it without your help.

Be sure to continue to check our award-winning Web site regularly for news about and opportunities for women journalists worldwide.

Your support and participation helps us remain a vibrant global network of people who believe that women journalists’ full participation in the news media furthers freedom of press around the world.

May 3 was World Press Freedom Day, but many women journalists around the world are still risking their lives to achieve press freedom.

Please help the International Women’s Media Foundation support press freedom worldwide. Sign our petition for the release of Roxana Saberi, an American journalist who has been sentenced to eight years in prison in Iran, and for Euna Lee and Laura Ling, American journalists who have been detained in North Korea since March.

Liza Gross, interim executive director of the IWMF, spoke at a Press Freedom Day rally in New York on May 3 in front of the United Nations headquarters. Together with Reporters Without Borders, Gross called for the release of Saberi, Lee and Ling.

Join the IWMF's global network, furthering freedom of the press.