An Iranian court has found Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian guilty, but the Judiciary hasn’t announced what he was convicted of or what his sentence is nine days after saying the judgment had been handed down.
The Judiciary appeared to be playing mind games with the world by its weird treatment of the case.
Judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossain Mohseni-Ejai told reporters more than a week ago that a verdict had been handed down in Rezaian’s case—but he didn’t say what the verdict was.
That night, Mohseni-Ejai said Rezaian had been found guilty. But he didn’t say if he had been found guilty of all or just some of the charges against him. The key charge against Rezaian is espionage. And Mohseni-Ejai also did not say what the sentence was.
Rezaian’s mother and wife were able to visit him at Evin prison last Tuesday. Rezaian said he had learned of Mohseni-Ejai’s remarks on state television. He said that as of last Tuesday he had not been given any official word about his case. Rezaian’s mother described him as “terribly depressed.”
Rezaian’s brother, Ali, said Rezaian is being held in an area of Evin used for political prisoners. Ali Rezaian said his brother is housed in a cell with one other prisoner who speaks neither English nor Farsi. He didn’t say where the other prisoner came from.
Ali Rezaian said Jason’s mother and wife are allowed to visit every Tuesday and bring clothes, food and books—although sometimes the guards refuse to allow them to give the items to Jason. He said on last Tuesday’s visit, they brought food, which the guards would not allow Jason to have.
The final hearing in Rezaian’s case was held August 10. Iranian law requires that a court’s decision be announced within 10 days of the final trial session. As of Tuesday, however, 71 days had passed since the final court session.
Rezaian, 39, was tried for espionage, acting against national security and writing a letter to President Obama, a reference to an application for a job he submitted after Obama’s 2008 election.
The Post described the trial as a “sham,” a “sick brew of farce and tragedy” and called Mohseni-Ejai’s announcements “vague and puzzling.”
As of October 9, Rezaian had been imprisoned 444 days, the same time as the 52 American hostages detained in 1979-81.
Five Americans are now detained in Iran:
- Hamed Ghassemi, from Louisiana, was detained four months ago when he returned to Iran to bury his mother there after her murder in Louisiana.
- Rezaian has been imprisoned more than 15 months.
- Pastor Saeed Abedini of Idaho has been held more than three years.
- Former Marine Amir Hekmati of Michigan has so far spent more than four years in prison.
• Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson was last seen on Kish Island in the custody of two Iranian police officers more than 8 1/2 years ago.