After being briefed by Rezaian’s lawyer, Leila Ahsan, about the charges, Ali Rezaian said that, according to Ahsan, the prosecution had no evidence to support the allegations of “activities against Iran’s security in collaboration with a foreign organization or government” and “anti-government propaganda”.
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Marty Baron, The Post’s executive editor, said in a statement that “there are indications from Tehran that the closed-door trial… might finally be nearing its end”.
The lawyer of a detained Washington Post journalist charged with espionage in Iran says the next hearing in his trial likely will be the last.
“Still, it’s not clear how long it will take for the court to issue a verdict on the case after the last session”, Ahsan said.
But Rezaian’s family, friends and colleagues are guardedly optimistic that the nuclear accord announced last week between Iran and five world powers will help ease the way toward his release.
His wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a journalist for The National newspaper in the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi, and two photographers were detained along with Rezaian on July 22, 2014, in Tehran. He reiterated that Rezaian had done “nothing wrong”.
Held in isolation in Tehran’s Evin prison, Rezaian has been living a nightmare for the past year just for doing his job as a reporter and because he was unlucky enough to have dual US and Iranian nationality at a time when the two countries were conducting tense negotiations about Iran’s nuclear programme.
Reacting to the president’s comments, Baron said, “We certainly hope that is the case”.
However, the date for the next private court session is unknown. “We’ve tried every channel that we believe is available to us”. There can be no reason for further delay.
Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists urged a resolution to the Rezaian ordeal as it asked the head of the Iranian judiciary to intervene.
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“Never before has an global journalist been held for so long in the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
