Jason Rezaian (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
The mystery of Jason Rezaian’s “espionage” trial is apparently coming to an end.
Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron said Monday, “There are indications from Tehran that the closed-door trial of Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian might finally be nearing its end.”
But to what end? That remains unclear, as has the entire proceeding for the reporter who has been in prison for a year.
Baron said Rezaian’s attorney, Leila Ahsan, “has said that Iranian authorities have told her that the next hearing will ‘almost certainly’ be the last, though no date has yet been set.”
Baron reiterated how there have been just three court sessions since the Revolutionary Court proceeding began May 25. He has called the entire prosecution a sham, as have the Obama administration and a variety of journalism groups.
“There can be no reason for further delay,” said Baron. “The charges that Jason faces, including espionage, are grave; they also could not be more ludicrous. Any fair outcome would clear Jason of these manufactured charges so that he can be released and reunited with his family.”
Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists urged a resolution to the Rezaian ordeal as it asked the head of the Iranian judiciary to intervene.
