Senate Proceeding on Apr 27th, 2009 :: 1:54:40 to 2:03:35
Total video length: 4 hours 33 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

Note: MetaVid video transcripts may contain inaccuracies, help us build a more perfect archive

Views:116 Duration: 0:08:55 Discussion

Previous speech:

Next speech:

1:54:36 to 1:54:56( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: i would ask my colleagues to mr. president, with that i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the

1:54:40 to 2:03:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Byron Dorgan

1:54:57 to 1:55:20( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: mr. president, this is a photograph of roxana he is beery -- she was born and raised in fargo, north dakota. her father is an iranian citizen, but moved here for over 35 years ago. her mother akiko is japanese.

1:55:21 to 1:55:42( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: this young woman is a 194 graduate of -- 199 1994 grad wit -- graduate. an outanding athlete. in 1997 she was voted miss north dakota. that year she was made one of the 10 finalists in miss america

1:55:43 to 1:56:04( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: winning the scholar award. 1999 she completed her masters degree from broadcast journalism from northwestern. in 2000 she earned a masters degree from university. i tell you all of that about this young woman because she sits in a 10-foot by 10-foot

1:56:05 to 1:56:26( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: prison in tehran, iran. i spoke to her father this weekend. her father and tehran. let me just tell you that roxana was arrested in iran and put in pris she's when she went to iran, she did so because she was proud of her iranian heritage even though she

1:56:27 to 1:56:49( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: was born and raised here in the unitedtates. she was interested in going to the country where her father had come from. so she went to iran and she was a woman trained in journalism. someone i had met and practiced journalism in north dakota and then reported for national public radio, bbc for and for others from tehran.

1:56:50 to 1:57:10( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: she stayed in iran after her credentials as a journalist were rescinded in 2006. she stayed to write a book about iran and complete her book on international studies. as i said yesterday she spent her 86th day in iran in a 10-foot by 10-foot cell with

1:57:11 to 1:57:33( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: three cell mates. she was and she was convicted just a week ago of spying and giving an eight-year sentence in prison. it is an absolute miscarriage of justice. this young woman is not engage

1:57:34 to 1:57:55( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: in -- she is not a she went to iran because she was proud of her iranian heritage. she was arrested without the capability of accessing an attorney. her parents didn't know where she was.

1:57:56 to 1:58:16( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: she was held incommunicado. roxana has been sentenced to eight years for spying. she is not a spievment she a young woman -- not a spy. she is a young woman caught up in a judicial system and the politics from iran from which she can't seem to escape. she is an in a prison cell in iran.

1:58:17 to 1:58:38( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: as i said a week ago, she went on a hunger strike. her father told me when i visited with him on that he was going to the prison today in she tried to convince stop the her father said that she looked weak and

1:58:39 to 1:59:00( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: to continue the hunger untilhe dies is -- or is released from jail. the only in yourishment is -- nourishment is water with sugar. the world has protested this sentencing and conviction. she was held for 10 days without

1:59:01 to 1:59:21( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: an ability to communicate with anyone. it took a month before the country of iran admitted this they were -- that they were holdg her. it was five weeks before she could see a lawyer. first the iranian government said that the charge was that she purchase a and the person who sold it to

1:59:22 to 1:59:44( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: and therefore she was that is what she was told she was put in prison for. she bought a she accused of working as a journalist without a valid press license. and weeks later she was accused of being a the court has not released any ev they held a one-day trial.

1:59:45 to 2:00:05( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: in fact, a one half day trial behind closed doors. no evidence against her. according to her aorney, she was not allowed to speak in her now, we would see that as a completely foreign notion of what justice should be. apparently at leastn some circles in ira

2:00:06 to 2:00:30( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: that some rt of perverted justice. there is at least some hopeful sign here. president ahmadinejad sent a letter to saying that her rights must not be violated and asked him to ensure that she is allowed to offer a full defense on the appeal. her attorney, as i understand it, is now set to offer the appeal.

2:00:31 to 2:00:51( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: the ayatollah the head of iran's judiciary, has requested a quick and fair appeal of roxana's appeal in this case. that also gives some hope. they understand that what is at trial here those that govern iran. this has our country, because we don't have an embassy or an ambassador

2:00:52 to 2:01:12( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: in iran. we must communicate through the swiss embassy which is our protectate in the country of iran. but i wanted to say again this young woman is not a spy. it is have been charged with espionage. it is an unbelievable miscarriage of justice for her to be sitting in a 10x10 foot

2:01:13 to 2:01:33( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: prison cell. yesterday on her birthday, she sits in tt cell, in evin prison in tehran, facing sentence for which she was not able to defend herself. just the basic tenets of justice have been denied to this young woman. what i believe iran should do is release her fro

2:01:34 to 2:01:55( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: her to leave the country. allow her to leave the country of iran. i hope that the iranian government is listening, just to us, not just to me, but to virtually everyone in the world who cares about fairness and justice and human rights. all of them have weighed in with the country of iran saying, how on earth c how do you justify this?

2:01:56 to 2:02:17( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: and i hope the country of iran understands, the spotlight of the world is on the country of ir and those who have decided to arrest this young woman from the streets of tehran, woman so proud of her heritage that she was there wanting to write a book about her heritage. i hope they understand the injustice of what they have done and what the rest of the world

2:02:18 to 2:02:39( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: sees of that injustice and what it means to in in the rest of the world. if they do, if they understand that, most surely they will decide to release her prison, exonerate her and allow her to leave the country of and i hope they do that soon. they face great risks with the health of this young woman who is now on a hunger strike.

2:02:40 to 2:03:00( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: the people that run the judicial system in iran, including president ahmadinejad, should do the right thing. it's been too long, long before we have seen action hon this case. i've spoken to the permanent representative, the iranian representativef t

2:03:01 to 2:03:24( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: nations on unanimou numerous occasions on this case. i hope today, finally at long last, perhaps the iranians will ndle the unfairness of what they have done and finally at long, long last make it right. mr. president, i yield the floor and i make a quorum is not present. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.