Washington Post reporter and dual U.S.-Iranian citizen Jason Rezaian went on trial Tuesday in Tehran for espionage charges.
Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency reported that 39-year-old Rezaian, who was working as the Post's Tehran bureau chief, "is accused of espionage for the U.S. government and activity against the Islamic Republican of Iran."
It's been more than 10 months since he was vaguely detained on the spying charges on July 22, 2014, and the trial began Tuesday behind closed doors in Iran's Branch 15 court, which usually deals with political cases and those related to national security, according to AFP.
"The proceedings were adjourned after about two hours," The Washington Post reported, adding that no "family members or independent observers were permitted inside the courtroom - bringing denunciations from press freedom groups and others."
Rezaian was arrested along with his wife Yeganeh Salehi, an Iranian national and correspondent for The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, but she was later released on bail and the status of her case is not know, the Post said.
Salehi and Rezaian's mother went to the courthouse Tuesday but were denied access to the closed trial.
It's a crime under Iranian law to disclose details of a closed-door court hearing. Rezaian's attorney, Leila Ahsan, could only tell his family that the trial "opened today in the Revolutionary Court with the judge reading the indictment against him," and, "The proceeding will continue at a later session," according to the Post.
Ahsan told Iranian state media that Rezaian had been charged with "espionage, collaboration with hostile governments, gathering classified information and disseminating propaganda against" Iran, reports the BBC.
Rezaian's brother, Ali, told the BBC there was no evidence to support the charges. "They've cherry-picked information to come up with whatever they could to charge him with to make it seem like there was a reason that they've held him."
"And their main charge is that he basically applied for a job with the White House," Ali said, according to NPR.
A statement by the Washington Post's Executive Editor Martin Baron says: "It's worth recalling what kind of system we're dealing with. Jason was arrested without charges. He was imprisoned in Iran's worst prison. He was placed in isolation for many months and denied medical care he needed. His case was assigned to a judge internationally notorious for human rights violations. He could not select the lawyer of his choosing. He was given only an hour and a half to meet with a lawyer approved by the court. No evidence has ever been produced by prosecutors or the court to support these absurd charges. The trial date was only disclosed to Jason's lawyer last week. And now, unsurprisingly but unforgivably, it turns out the trial will be closed."
In a March statement, President Obama also urged Iran to release Rezaian along with other American currently being held in Tehran.
