Her father, Reza Saberi, wrote in an e-mail shared with the Free Roxana campaign that “We, the parents of Roxana, are looking forward to a satisfactory verdict, which may be annouced by the end of the week.  Until then we hope for the best and thank all those who have had our daughter in their thoughts and prayers and have done all that they could to support her and ask for her freedom.”

Read the full report about the appeal at CNN

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Roxana’s father Reza Saberi, left, listens to her lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, in his office in Tehran on Thursday April 9, 2009 (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)

Both the Associated Press and the Washington Post filed stories Wednesday that reach beyond the basic details of Roxana’s case and spark a dialogue about what it all might mean in the context of Iran’s impending June elections and the Obama administration’s recent subdued diplomatic overtures.

The father of a jailed American journalist charged by Iran with espionage called Thursday for his daughter’s release and said he will not leave the country until she is freed.

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“I demand them to release my daughter as soon as possible so that she can return to her normal life and continue her job,” Saberi’s father told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. “I will stay here until she is freed.”

The U.S. government has been pressing for Saberi’s release and the new charge this week was a setback at a time when President Barack Obama has expressed a willingness to talk with Iran after many years of rocky relations under the former U.S. administration.

The Iranian news agency ISNA quoted a judge who is the deputy head of the prosecutor’s office as saying Saberi had “accepted” the accusation.

Her lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, told Reuters: “As they have announced, they have accused her of espionage.”

Saberi, a 31-year-old Iranian-American freelance journalist who was born in the United States and has reported for the BBC, NPR and other media, was arrested in late January for working in the Islamic Republic after her press credentials had expired.

Under Iran’s penal code, the crime of espionage can carry the death penalty. Last November Iran executed an Iranian businessman convicted of spying on the military for Israel.

“She had been carrying out espionage activities … under the cover of a journalist … and she has accepted the accusations,” ISNA quoted judge Haddad as saying. It gave only his last name.

“She has been charged and a branch of the Revolutionary Court is reviewing her case now,” he said, referring to a court which handles security issues.

Khorramshahi said no court date had yet been announced.

The United States, which is embroiled in a long-running dispute with Iran over the Islamic state’s nuclear program, has been calling for her immediate release.

ashington cut ties with Tehran almost three decades ago, shortly after the Islamic revolution in 1979, but the new administration of President Barack Obama has offered to extend a hand of peace if Iran “unclenches its fist.”

Iran says it wants to see real change in Washington’s policies, away from those of former President George W. Bush, who led a drive to isolate Tehran because of nuclear work the West suspects has military aims, a charge Iran denies.

Saberi’s parents visited her in Tehran’s Evin jail on Monday, after arriving from the United States. Khorramshahi then said she was in good health and mental condition.

Her parents appealed to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month for their daughter’s release, saying she was in a “critical” mental condition.

Reza Saberi says he and his wife, Akiko, will leave their home in Fargo on Monday afternoon and hope to be in Tehran by Wednesday.

Reza Saberi said he has been hearing word that Iranian officials are going to “speed up the process” of releasing his daughter, but he said “there’s still some work to do.”

The Iranian government has said Roxana Saberi was arrested for doing reporting work in the country after her press credentials expired. Her parents found out about her arrest in a brief phone call from her Feb. 10.

Saberi is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Iran who has reported for a number of international news organizations.

“She is pretty suicidal,” said the elder Saberi, who lives in Fargo, North Dakota. “She is saying she will go on a hunger strike if they keep her there. I tried to calm her down. I told her we are doing everything and to just hold on. Don’t give in. We will try to secure her release.”

Saberi said his daughter told him she had met with a prosecutor in Tehran and been told she may be in prison for several months and possibly up to two years.

The State Department appears to be trying other avenues to open access to Roxana:

“We are now are pushing for, through the Swiss, consular access, which we feel is particularly necessary at this time,” State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said at a briefing.

Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Tehran as Washington does not have diplomatic ties with Iran.