Washington Post reporter’s trial begins in Iran behind closed doors
Rezaian, who is Iranian-American and faces unspecified charges, will be in Revolutionary Court with only his attorney, his brother Ali Rezaian told FRANCE 24.
“Not only will [the trial] be closed to the public so there won’t be any information getting out, but they’ve also said that our mother and Jason’s wife will be prevented from attending the trial,” he said in an interview from Washington.
Jason Rezaian, the Post’s Tehran bureau chief, has been in Tehran’s Evin prison since his arrest in July. Iran has not elaborated on the charges, but the Post has said he was charged with espionage.
“I think the only reason you could possibly imagine that the trial would be closed would be to prevent people from seeing the lack of evidence,” Ali Rezaian said in an interview with Reuters Television on Monday.
“It’s unlike the Iranian court system, Iranian government, to keep things private when they can go out and use propaganda up against people.”
Ali Rezaian said his brother had lost 40 pounds (18 kg) in prison but that he “hadn’t given up hope”.
Rezaian, who is from Marin County, California, was arrested at his home in Tehran alongside his wife and two Iranian-US friends who have not been named.
Salehi was freed on bail while the couple were released. The three have not been publicly charged.
Citing his lawyer, the Post said in April that Rezaian faces espionage charges for allegedly collecting confidential information about domestic and foreign policy and handing it to “hostile governments”.
Douglas Jehl, the Post’s foreign editor, called the charges baseless. “What Jason did was act as a journalist, which involves gathering information, verifying information, and ultimately publishing it,” he told Reuters Television.
Ali Rezaian told FRANCE 24 that “Jason is obviously very disappointed, he’s mad at different countries – both the US and Iran – he knows he shouldn’t be there and that there’s no evidence against him”.
A spokesman for the Iranian special interests section in Washington, which acts as Tehran’s embassy, could not be reached for comment.
US President Barack Obama has called the charges against Rezaian “vague” and pressed Iran to release all American detainees.
In an interview with FRANCE 24 in December, the secretary of Iran's Human Rights Council, Mohammad Javad Larijani, described the case as a “fiasco”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in April that an intelligence operative, possibly linked to the US government, may have “taken advantage” of Rezaian.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
