The news of the conviction came out initially on early Sunday, but the Tehran court spokes person, Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei denied the news. There aren’t many details, however.
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State Department spokesperson John Kirby also called on Iran to drop all charges against Rezaian. The paper questioned whether the San Rafael native has even been informed of the verdict.
Martin Baron, the executive editor of The Washington Post, called the verdict, “an outrageous injustice” and “contemptible”. Ahsan was not reachable for comment on Monday. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported that the verdict against Rezaian has been issued.
His supporters and human rights advocates have repeatedly complained of the shadowy, secretive nature of the Iranian judicial process. Rezaian’s imprisonment in Iran is the longest of any Western journalist since the current regime came into power in Iran in 1979.
“The only thing that has ever been clear about this case is Jason’s innocence”, Baron continued. Rezaian was arrested in July 2014.
Only one country has jailed more journalists than Iran: China.
“Our mother, Jason’s wife, and Jason’s lawyer went to court today to seek clarification on any verdict in his case…”
Ali Rezaian, brother of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian. The other two Americans are Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor, and Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine. Rezaian’s family members are not allowed to observe the proceedings.
The official, Hassan Qashqavi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister in charge of legal and consular affairs, was quoted by state-linked media as saying the USA holds 19 Iranians on “sanctions-related charges” and another 60 for “ordinary crimes”. He said no sentence for Rezaian had been announced.
Meanwhile, the New York Times notes, “Iran appeared to be moving on Monday to position Mr. Rezaian’s case as part of a broader effort to get the release of Iranians detained in the United States”.
July 22: The Post petitions the United Nations’ working group on arbitrary detention in hopes of securing Rezaian’s release.
The sentence for the American-Iranian reporter is unknown at this time.
“If indeed a ruling has been issued and is now being reviewed, this puts the onus on Iran’s senior leaders to demonstrate the fairness and justice that could only lead to Jason’s exoneration and release”.
Rezaian’s trial began on May 26, 2015, and was closed to the public. The other charges also involve alleged violations of Iranian national security. She was released on $333,000 bond. A few Republican candidates for president have called Rezaian and the two other Americans held in Iran “hostages”. He said he expected the case to be resolved “in less than a month”. “There is still the possibility of this ruling being appealed and it is not final”.
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October 11: Mysterious announcement is made by an Iranian judiciary spokesman about the existence of a verdict in the trial, but the verdict is not described. He has already been detained in Iran for more than a year, charged with espionage and distributing propaganda against the Islamic Republic.
