Kohona told the Bangkok press club that despite harsh criticism of the sentencing from rights groups and the United States, the proceedings were not a sham.

VOA: standard.2009.09.01

The 32-year-old Saberi, who has worked for National Public Radio and the BBC,was jailed in January,allegedly because her press credentials had expired, before being convicted last month of "spying for the United States" in what many are calling a sham-trial.

VOA: standard.2009.05.06