TEHRAN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The deputy head of the Iranian prosecutor's office said Wednesday that the Iranian-American reporter may enjoy sentence "amendments" on appeal, the local Press TV reported.

    A branch of Iran's Revolution Court, which handles security issues, had received the request for the appeal, Hassan Zare Dehnavi, known as Judge Haddad, was quoted as saying.

    "The case will be reviewed by the court of appeal and amendments will be made to the sentence should there be room for amendments," said Haddad.

    Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old freelance journalist, who reported for various news organizations including the BBC and U.S. National Public Radio (NPR), had been denied press credentials by Iranian authorities since 2006. However, she defied the ban and continued her journalistic activities.

    Saberi, who was born in the United States and whose father is an Iranian, was arrested in Iran in the second half of January 2009 on charges of espionage for the United States.

    Saberi's lawyer has said that her client has received eight years of sentence but he has made an appeal against the verdict.

    Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi has asked the United States and the Europeans not to interfere with this case.

    But U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Iran for a re-examination of the spy case against the Iranian- American journalist.

    Iran's high-ranking officials have urged the country's judiciary to carry out a "fair" and "full" investigation into the case.