US journalist sentenced for spying in Iran

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US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, seen here in an image from the National Press Photographers Association in 2004, has been sentenced to eight years in jail on charges of spying for the United States, her lawyer said.(AFP/NPPA-HO/File)

Saberi's lawyer says he intends to appeal the decision.

Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, Roxana Saberi's Lawyer, said, "I verify that according to the verdict presented to me and my defendant, Ms. Saberi, she has been sentenced to eight years in jail. According to law, this verdict can be appealed within 20 days. I will definitely appeal the verdict within this period."

The United States says Saberi is an American reporter who is simply practicing journalism. Her father, Reza Saberi, says his daughter has been writing a book on the culture and people of Iran since 1997.

Her father says Saberi is considering a hunger strike in protest of the Iranian sentence. The verdict marks the first case where Iran has found an American journalist guilty of espionage.

Meanwhile, conservative Iranian lawmakers say that the case will not significantly affect any ongoing efforts to build trust between Washington and Iran.