US reporter begins his defence in Iran trial

TEHRAN: Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent accused of spying on Iran, began his defence on Monday in a trial that is taking place behind closed doors in Tehran, local media reported.

Rezaian, a 39-year-old Iranian-American, has been in custody since last July.

In a short report Iran’s Tasnim news agency said Rezaian, who is accused of collecting confidential information, cooperating with hostile governments and disseminating propaganda against the regime, answered some of the charges against him. The reporter spoke in English and his answers were translated for the presiding judge at branch 15 of Tehran’s revolutionary court, it said, noting that the three-hour hearing ended around 1:45pm (0915GMT). The report did not give any details of what Rezaian said in court. The official IRNA news agency, quoting an informed source, said the date of the next hearing would be announced later. The Post has said that Rezaian is being used as a pawn in an internal political power struggle about the ongoing nuclear diplomacy. His lawyer insists that there is “no proof” against him.

Monday’s hearing was the second in Rezaian’s case following the opening session of his trial on May 25 when prosecutors presented the charges against him. Rezaian’s family has dismissed the charges as false and the United States has urged Iran to release the journalist and other Americans detained in the country. Tehran does not recognise dual nationality. Rezaian, who has worked for the Post since 2012, was arrested with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, also a journalist, at their home on July 22, last year.