TEHERAN: An Iranian court will hold a hearing next week on the appeal of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi against her eight-year jail sentence for espionage, the judiciary said yesterday.

Saberi was jailed on April 18 on charges of spying for the United States. The case could complicate Washington's efforts towards reconciliation with Teheran after three decades of mutual mistrust.

Her father said the 32-year-old was "very weak" after refusing food for two weeks in Teheran's Evin prison in protest at the verdict. Reza Saberi said his daughter fainted a few days ago and had been given intravenous fluid.