It turned into a key part of the prosecution's case against her during her secret, closed-door trial in mid-April before an Iranian security court, Nikbakht said. Prosecutors also cited a trip to Israel that Saberi made in 2006, he said. Iran bars its citizens from visiting Israel, its top regional nemesis.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran for the first time since her release Monday, a smiling Saberi said she did not have any specific plans but wanted to spend time with her family. Saberi, who at one point was on hunger strike in prison, looked thin but energetic, dressed in a bright blue headscarf, black pants and a black dress.
"I'm of course very happy to be free and to be with my parents again, and I want to thank all the people all over the world - which I'm just finding out about really - who whether they knew me or not helped me and my family during this period," she said in brief remarks outside her home in north Tehran.
"I don't have any specific plans for the moment, I just want to be with my parents, and my friends and to relax," the 32-year-old said.
Her father said Saberi was catching up on news stories on her detention as the family prepared to return with her to the United States in the coming days.
Saberi's original trial was a swift, single session that her father said lasted only 15 minutes. She didn't have a chance to speak at that trial, and she was sentenced to eight years - drawing an outcry from Washington.
But she spoke in an appeals court Sunday, explaining her side to the judges, Nikbakht said. Saberi admitted that she copied the document two years ago but said she didn't pass it on to the Americans, as prosecutors claimed. She apologized, saying it had been a mistake to take the report. Nikbakht gave no details on the document because it is confidential.
