News organizations issue joint appeal on behalf of journalist detained in Iran

Top execs from seven news organizations, including NPR and PBS, are appealing to international human rights groups to verify the health and well-being of Roxana Saberi, a freelance journalist who is being held in Evin Prison in Tehran. Saberi, who has reported for NPR, ABC News and the BBC among others, was detained by Iranian authorities on Jan. 31 and has been denied contact with her family since Feb. 10. "We now ask that the specific charges against Roxana Saberi be made public," the execs said in a jointly issued statement. "If no charges are filed, we now urge her immediate release and ask that she be given permission to return to her home country, the United States." Media execs signing the letter include Vivian Schiller of NPR, David Westin of ABC News, Jon Williams of BBC News; Paula Kerger of PBS; Robert Thomson of Fox News; and Simon Marks of Feature Story News. UPDATE: The official statement issued by NPR is here.