TEHRAN, Iran (AP) " An Iranian security court (click here) on Tuesday held the first hearing in the closed trial of an American-Iranian reporter for The Washington Post who has been detained for more than 10 months, the official IRNA news agency reported.
It said Jason Rezaian is being tried in a Revolutionary Court on allegations of "espionage for the hostile government of the United States" and propaganda against the Islamic republic, charges that could send him to jail for up to six years.
The report did not provide further details, but initial hearings in Iran usually see the prosecutor spell out charges.
Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi and two photojournalists were detained on July 22 in Tehran. All were later released except Rezaian, who was born and spent most of his life in the United States, and who holds both American and Iranian citizenship. Iran does not recognize other nationalities of its citizens.
U.S. officials have repeatedly pressed Iran to release Rezaian and other jailed Americans, including during talks on the sidelines of negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran and world powers hope to reach a comprehensive agreement on the program by the end of June....
According to The Washington Post an editor cannot even receive a visa attend the trial.
May 25, 2015
...Martin Baron, (click here) executive editor of The Post, said in a statement released Monday that both Rezaian’s mother and his wife, a journalist who also faces related charges and will be tried separately, have been barred from attending. The Post tried to obtain a visa for an editor to be in Iran during Rezaian’s trial, but its inquiries were not answered, Baron said....
