Second Court Session for Jason Rezaian

The second court session for Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist in Tehran, was held on Monday morning, June 8, in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, and was closed to the public. According to Tasnim News Agency, in this session, Jason Rezaian responded to part of his charges in English, and his defense will be provided to the judge after translation. The report states that the date for the next court session has not yet been determined. The first court session for Mr. Rezaian was held on June 5 in a closed setting, but Mehr News Agency published some details of this session. Meanwhile, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, spokesman for the judiciary, on Monday called the action of Mehr News Agency 'improper' and stated that 'the matter is under investigation.' Mehr News Agency reported that during the closed court session of Jason Rezaian, a translation of a letter in Persian was read, which the Iranian court claims was addressed to Barack Obama, the President of the United States, in which Mr. Rezaian states: 'In Iran, I am in contact with simple Iranian workers as well as influential clerics.' However, Martin Baron, the executive director of the Washington Post, stated in a statement that Jason Rezaian 'never had direct contact with the White House and did not write a letter.' Jason Rezaian, born in Marin County, California, was arrested in Iran on July 22 last year along with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and another person whose name has never been mentioned. Yeganeh Salehi, Mr. Rezaian's wife, who worked for an English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi, was released on bail after two and a half months. Mr. Rezaian faces charges such as 'espionage in favor of a hostile government and propaganda against the regime.' Meanwhile, Bernadette Meehan, spokesperson for the National Security Council of the United States, criticized the 'complete lack of transparency' in Jason Rezaian's trial on June 5 and urged Iran to drop the 'absurd' espionage charges against this journalist. A day after these remarks, Marzieh Afkham, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, referred to Mr. Rezaian as 'an Iranian citizen' and deemed the statements of American officials regarding the legal proceedings and trial of him as 'lacking the necessary legal and judicial validity.'