An Iranian court will hold its final hearing on Monday for the trial of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter that faces allegations including espionage.
Rezaian was the publication's correspondent in Tehran and was detained by authorities in Iran more than a year ago. He has denied the accusations against him and had filed appeals for his release to the State Department, international media group supporters and other organizations, The Washington Post reported.
Leila Ahsan, Rezaian's lawyer, said "this was the final hearing." The court's final verdict will be decided within the week.
Abolqasem Salavati, known as an uncompromising judge, presided over the journalist's past hearings. The past hearings were all kept so private that even Mary, Rezaian's mother, and Yeganeh Salehi, his wife, were not allowed to witness any of the trials.
Mary told reporters outside the courthouse that Rezaian was working "just like others" as an ordinary journalist. Through time, her son's trial had turned into a political issue that pushed the judiciary to become more transparent, according to the New York Times.
"If the judiciary is really independent, let them organize a public trial and prove whether my son has done anything wrong," his mother said. "They cannot prove that he is a spy as there is no evidence."
Martin Baron, executive editor for the Post, criticized the trial as a "sham" and stated that the charges "could not be more baseless and absurd."
"Iran has behaved unconscionably throughout this travesty of a case," Baron said. "It has imprisoned an innocent journalist for more than a year and subjected him to physical mistreatment and psychological abuse."
Mark Toner, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said at a press briefing that the United States still continues to push its efforts in releasing not only Rezaian but other Americans detained in Iran as well, the Voice of America reported.
Said Abedini and Amir Hekmati are two of other Americans held in Iran for some years.
