France protests as Iran detains woman for spying

September 19th, 2009 Iran detains several after Friday protestsTEHRAN, Iran — Iran's official news agency says police detained several protesters after Friday's massive demonstrations. The spokesman of Tehran police department Colonel Mahdi Ahmadi said Saturday that "several" people were detained for throwing rocks at police and setting motorcycles on fire, according to IRNA.

August 10th, 2009 Sarkozy working for release of Frenchwoman in IranPARIS —French President Nicolas Sarkozy is working to secure the release of a French academic who is among the accused in a mass trial in Iran, the president's office said Monday. France's Foreign Ministry called the release of Clotilde Reiss and a French-Iranian woman also on trial, Nazak Afshar, "our very first priority." Reiss, 24, was arrested July 1 after five months teaching in the Iranian city of Isfahan and after taking photos of an Iranian opposition demonstration.

August 9th, 2009 TEHRAN - Britain's troubled relations with Iran suffered a further setback as a British embassy official confessed to spying during a trial in Tehran, saying that Britain had provided financial assistance to Iran's reformists to weaken the hardline clerical regime during the disputed presidential elections in June this year. Hossein Rassam, a political analyst with the embassy, said the embassy had allocated a budget of 300,000 pounds to set up links with political groups, individuals and activists.

July 18th, 2009 Woman hit by motorcycle at Tour de France, diesBESANCON, France — A woman crossing the road during the Tour de France was killed Saturday when she was hit by a police motorcycle escorting riders. Two other fans were injured after the motorcycle skidded into them.

July 16th, 2009 Media monitor: 7 photographers detained in IranPARIS — Media monitor Reporters Without Borders says seven photographers and a cameraman have been detained in Iran, most of them over the past week. The Paris-based group listed five Iranian photographers seized Saturday, nearly a month after the June 12 presidential elections that prompted a wave of opposition protests.

July 9th, 2009 French academic in Iran prison healthy but worriedPARIS — France's foreign minister says a French academic held in an Iranian prison is in good health but worried. Bernard Kouchner says the French ambassador to Iran met with the detained woman, Clotilde Reiss, in Iran's Evin prison and brought her books, clothes and a message from her family.

July 7th, 2009 Sarkozy urges release of Frenchwoman held in IranPARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday demanded that Iran free a young French teacher detained after taking photos of Iranian protests and dismissed Iranian accusations that she was spying as "high fantasy." Clotilde Reiss, 23, was arrested July 1 at the Tehran airport as she was about to leave Iran after five months of studying and teaching French at Isfahan University, and accused of espionage, according to French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier. "These accusations of espionage are high fantasy," Sarkozy said at a Paris news conference with Brazil's president.

June 24th, 2009 Iran considering downgrading ties with BritainCAIRO — Iran says it is considering downgrading ties with Britain after days of rising tension over criticism of Iran's disputed presidential election. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was asked about the option of reducing diplomatic relations with London after a Cabinet meeting in Tehran.

June 24th, 2009 Supreme leader: Iran won't give in on electionCAIRO — Iran's supreme leader said Wednesday that the government would not give in to pressure over the disputed presidential election, effectively closing the door to compromise with the opposition. Iran also said it was considering downgrading ties with Britain, which it has accused of spying and fomenting days of unprecedented street protests over the vote.

June 24th, 2009 Journalist Saberi urges Iran to free aid workerPARIS — American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi called Wednesday for the release of a former cellmate — a U.S. aid agency worker held in an Iranian prison — and expressed worry about those detained during opposition protests in Tehran.

June 23rd, 2009 Man: Woman killed in Iran protests wanted freedomLOS ANGELES — A man identifying himself as the boyfriend of a young woman whose grisly death in Iran's postelection protests was captured on amateur video said Monday that she only wanted democracy and freedom for the people of Iran. In the video, Neda Agha Soltan is lying on the ground as blood flows from her mouth and nose and onlookers scream.

June 22nd, 2009 White House: Obama 'moved' by protests in IranWASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama has been "moved" by the television images of people in Iran taking to the street in protest. Riot police in Tehran continue to lead a crackdown on demonstrators following a disputed presidential election.

April 28th, 2009 French group urges Iran to free US journalistPARIS — More than a dozen people in Paris have launched a hunger strike in support of an American journalist who is in jail in Tehran. The journalist, Roxana Saberi, has herself been on a hunger strike for a week.

April 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is "deeply disappointed" by Iran's sentencing of a US journalist, the White House has said. An Iranian court has held Iranian-American freelancer Roxana Saberi guilty of spying, and awarded her an eight-year jail term.

April 18th, 2009 TEHRAN - An American-Iranian journalist has been jailed for eight years in Tehran after being accused of spying for the United States. er lawyer and family revealed that 31-year-old Roxana Saberi had been convicted and sentenced.