Washington Post reporter convicted in Iran espionage trial

“I would hope with all the work that’s been done between the two countries the last… couple of years that the appeal will amount to something”, said Reid, referring to the Obama administration’s recently reached nuclear deal with Iran, which he has supported.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said officials were closely monitoring reports of Rezaian’s conviction.

“News of a verdict in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court initially came early Sunday, but court spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei did not specify the judgment”, the Post reported. The ruling is eligible for appeal within 20 days, Ejehi said.

Executive editor of the Post Martin Baron has slammed the verdict, saying it was “an outrageous injustice”.

“Today’s events are just the latest in what has always been a travesty of justice and an ongoing nightmare for Jason and our family”, his brother said in a statement. “The contemptible end to this “judicial process” leaves Iran’s senior leaders with an obligation to right this grievous wrong”. Jason is a victim – arrested without cause, held for months in isolation, without access to a lawyer, subjected to physical mistreatment and psychological abuse, and now convicted without basis.

The treatment and trial of Rezaian has drawn condemnation from his family, the U.S. government and press freedom groups as well as The Washington Post. Ahsan was not reachable for comment on Monday.

On Monday, Rezaian’s brother, Ali, a Mill Valley biotech consultant who has dedicated his life to securing the release of his imprisoned sibling, said his mother, his brother’s wife and Ahsan went to the court in Iran on Monday to seek clarification in the case, but were brushed off.

Rezaian, who was born in San Francisco and grew up in Marin County, was working as a correspondent for the Washington Post in Iran when he was arrested in July 2014.

“He began to identify individuals and companies that violated sanctions and were cooperating with Iran”, the network said on its website. The verdict – belated and opaque – was strongly condemned by the journalist’s family and colleagues, as well as the USA government.

The Post has previously reported that Jason Rezaian potentially faces a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.

Haleh Esfandiari, an expert on Iran and a public policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson worldwide Center for Scholars, suspects the Iranians are holding Rezaian because they were unable to get a prisoner swap with the USA during the nuclear negotiations. Iran holds other USA citizens, and said at the time that the United States holds a few 16 Iranians for bypassing sanctions and around 60 prisoners for other crimes. Now it appears the only possible chance of seeing the four released would be for us to release 19 Iranians, who helped facilitate violations of the existing sanctions.