Jason Rezaian's Lawyer: The Next Court Session Will Likely Be My Client's Last

The lawyer of Jason Rezaian, the imprisoned Washington Post journalist in Iran, stated that the next court session regarding the charges related to espionage against her client will likely be the last session for this case. Leila Ahmadi told the Associated Press on July 29, "The court has informed me that the next session will 'most likely' be the last, but the date has not yet been set." Jason Rezaian has attended three court sessions to review the charges against him. Ms. Ahmadi added, "It is still unclear how long it will take for the court to issue a ruling even after the last session is held." Jason Rezaian was arrested on July 22, 2014, along with his wife Yeganeh Salehi and two photojournalists in Tehran. Ms. Salehi and the other two journalists were released after a while, but Jason Rezaian remains in prison. The spokesperson for the judiciary described the charges against the Washington Post journalist as "espionage for the benefit of the U.S." and "propaganda activities against the regime." Ali Rezaian, Jason's brother, previously told Radio Farda, "The psychological pressure on [Jason] to confess to something he did not do is very high. He is under pressure because he knows the rights he should have in a judicial system are not being granted to him." The White House spokesperson emphasized on July 17 that Washington is strongly working to secure the release of American prisoners in Iran, and this issue is a high priority for the Obama administration. John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, also stated that he is "very, very" hopeful that Iran will release American citizens. Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, previously mentioned that during the nuclear negotiations with Iran, John Kerry "never neglected the Americans imprisoned in jail and pursued their discussion whenever possible." The Washington Post had previously reported that U.S. officials raised the status of Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, Jason Rezaian, and Robert Levinson multiple times during the nuclear negotiations with Iran. Pastor Saeed Abedini was arrested after returning to Iran and sentenced to eight years in prison for "actions against national security." Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, went missing in March 2007 while visiting Kish Island. Amir Hekmati was arrested in 2011 while claiming to have gone to Iran to visit his grandmother and was initially sentenced to death for "espionage" and "collaboration with hostile countries," but this sentence was reduced to ten years in prison on appeal.