Masud Shafii was told he could see his clients before the trial began February 6, but he never met them until they were brought into the courtroom that day and he could not speak with them privately.
Shafii told the Los Angeles Times in an interview Sunday that the was told by the judge at the end of the first trial session that he would be allowed to meet with them “very soon.”
Three weeks have passed and Shafii is still barred from speaking with the two men, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer.
Shafii expressed irritation that the trial was officially “closed,” barring him from speaking about it and barring Swiss diplomats who represent the United States from attending the trial of American citizens. But Shafii revealed that reporters from PressTV, the Iranian government’s English language television outlet, were in the “closed” courtroom.
Asked by the Los Angeles Times why PressTV was there, Shafii said, “You should ask PressTV.”
Shafii said he might quit the case since he is not being allowed to perform his duties.
Shafii said the two men “were given plenty of time” to speak at the one trial session held so far. He said they had about three hours. “But when it was my turn to defend, Judge Abolfazll Salavati did not give me time.”
The two Americans are accused of espionage and illegal entry into Iran. Shafii said that no documents or other evidence were introduced in the trial to back up the charges.
Shafii accused the Iranian Judiciary of “making a simple case complicated. They have wasted 19 months of my clients’ time in jail. Even if they were found guilty for trespassing, they have already completed their sentence.”