By RICK GLADSTONE
June 3, 2015
The adjourned espionage trial of Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent incarcerated in Tehran since last July, will resume on Monday, Mr. Rezaian’s brother said Wednesday.
The brother, Ali Rezaian, confirmed via email a report by the Iranian Students’ News Agency quoting the defense lawyer, Leila Ahsan, as saying that said she had been informed of the date for the next hearing in the case, which is closed to the public.
The first hearing was held on May 26 in branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court with no word on when it would resume.
Mr. Rezaian, a 39-year-old Californian, could face up to 20 years in prison if he is found guilty of the charges against him, which include espionage. The United States government, The Post, and Mr. Rezaian’s family and friends, and international press advocacy groups have described the accusations as absurd.
At least three Americans are imprisoned in Iran, including Mr. Rezaian, who has been The Post’s correspondent in Tehran since 2012. Anger in the United States about their fates, as well as that of a fourth American who disappeared in Iran in 2007, has become a festering issue between the two countries.
It may also complicate the multilateral talks on Iran’s disputed nuclear energy program, which are heading toward a June 30 deadline for completion.
On Tuesday, Ali Rezaian was among the relatives of the Americans imprisoned or missing in Iran who testified in Washington at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, which then approved a bipartisan resolution demanding that Iran release the captives immediately. While the resolution had no practical effect, it reflected the high levels of suspicion in Congress over Iran’s trustworthiness.
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(via NY Times)
