Iran’s official Irna news agency is reporting that a court has begun the third session in the trial of the detained Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian.
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Rezaian, who became the Washington Post’s Iran correspondent in 2012, is accused of activity against Iran and spying for the U.S. government, the Post reported.
The first hearing in Rezaian’s trial was held in May. Iran does not recognise other nationalities for its citizens.
Details of the case have been hard to establish due to the closed-door nature of proceedings before the Revolutionary Court that hears security-related cases in Iran.
The session in Tehran started on Monday morning with Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi, and another person appearing before the court.
Rezaian’s detention has been decried by journalists and human rights advocates all around the world.
Martin Baron, the Post’s executive editor, has disputed the alleged correspondence, saying that Rezaian did not write to the president but merely filled out an online job application for the Obama administration after the 2008 election, a position for which he was never hired.
Rezaian’s lawyer Leila Ahsan told AFP reporters in April there was “no justifiable proof” to support the charges against her client.
“We call again on Iran to deliver a speedy, fair and impartial judgment in Jason’s case, one that could only result in his acquittal, immediate release, and a long-overdue reunion with his family”, he said in a statement. Two other American citizens also detained along with them work as freelance photojournalists. Authorities usually bring those charged in sensitive cases through a gate that is closed to the public.
Mary Rezaian told reporters that she didn’t know if the United States was making any deals for her son as part of the broader nuclear deal.
Ahsan has previously said Salehi and one of the two unidentified photojournalists also would stand trial.
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