Jason Rezaian's Court Hearing Scheduled for June 5

Jason Rezaian's lawyer, who is imprisoned in Iran, announced that his client's court hearing is set for June 5 (May 26). Leila Ahmadi, Mr. Rezaian's lawyer, stated on Tuesday, May 18, that he and his wife have been summoned to court on this date. Ms. Ahmadi added that 'if there is enough time available, the trial will begin; however, if there is not enough time, the session will be held at another time.' Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American journalist for the Washington Post, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a journalist for the Emirati newspaper The National, were arrested on July 22, 2014. Ms. Salehi was released on bail after some time, but Mr. Rezaian has spent over eleven months in prison. Leila Ahmadi also conducted an interview with the Law newspaper on Tuesday, stating that 'the study of the case has long been completed.' The Law newspaper reported that 'according to an indictment issued by the Tehran prosecutor's office, the charge against the Washington Post journalist is espionage through the collection of the country's decisions regarding domestic and foreign policy issues.' Ms. Ahmadi had previously stated that her client is to be tried on charges of 'espionage,' 'collaboration with hostile governments,' 'collecting confidential information,' and 'propaganda against the Islamic Republic.' The United States and the Washington Post have described the charges against Mr. Rezaian as 'absurd and baseless.' Barack Obama, on Saturday, May 25, also committed at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner to use all his efforts to secure Jason Rezaian's release. The United States Senate also passed a resolution on May 10, calling on Iranian officials to free Jason Rezaian and other American citizens imprisoned in Iran.