Iran upholds jail for CIA overthrow plotters

An Iranian appeal court has upheld jail terms against two renowned doctors accused of involvement in an alleged U.S.-backed plot to topple the Islamic regime on Tuesday, a day after the parents of jailed Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi expressed hope she will be released soon.

Brothers Arash Alaie and Kamiar Alaie, who are well known for their pioneering work in HIV/AIDS, had been sentenced to six and three years terms respectively by a lower court in January last year.

"In an extraordinary session on March 18, the appeal court unfortunately confirmed (the sentences)," lawyer Massoud Shafiie told AFP.

Shafiie said the appeal court gave its verdict very quickly despite the voluminous case papers.

"It should have taken much longer to study in detail the arguments against the verdict. Therefore this can't be an appropriate decision," he said.

In January 2009, Iran announced it had dismantled a network allegedly funded by the U.S Central Inteligance Agency to overthrow the Islamic regime by triggering social upheaval.

It said the two brothers were part of that network, along with two other suspects whose fate in not known.

Shafiie said he will appeal again to judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi.

"I am somehow sure that the verdict will change," Shafiie said.

Both the U.S. and the European Union have called on Iran to revoke the sentences against the two HIV specialists.

Tehran regularly accuses Washington and London of covertly backing violent and non-violent action against the state in a bid to topple the Islamic regime.

It should have taken much longer to study in detail the arguments against the verdict

Massoud Shafiie, lawyer

Reporter still in jail

On Monday, the father of U.S. journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been held in Iranian custody since January, expressed hope that she will soon be freed soon after visiting her in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran.

"We have heard that she will be released soon, God willing,” Reza Saberi told AFP, adding he was satisfied with his daughter’s condition in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran.

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

The Iranian authorities are yet to reveal the charges against the journalist.

The Iranian foreign ministry said in March that Saberi had been working "illegally" in the country after her press card was revoked in 2006.

Her lawyer Abdolsamad Khoramshahi said on Sunday that Saberi has been indicted and that her case would be dealt with in a Tehran revolutionary court following completion of a preliminary investigation.

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

Washington has repeatedly called on Tehran to release the journalist who has reported for National Public Radio, the BBC and Fox News from Iran for the past six years.

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