The Iranian government harasses, imprisons and tortures journalists on a daily basis. Why? For exercising their fundamental right to freedom of information and expression.
Journalism is not a Crime was set up to support these jailed journalists. The site, which is launched this week, documents cases where journalists are unfairly arrested, and aids reporters and their loved ones by providing legal and psychological help to those affected.
The trial of Jason Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi and one other defendant took place behind closed doors on Monday, June 8 at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Salavati. Tasnim News Agency and the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) both published brief reports on the trial.
Also present were the attorneys for the defendants, a representative for the prosecution and an interpreter.
The prosecution asked Jason Rezaian to respond to the charges against him in English. His defense will be presented to the judge after it is translated.
The court session started at 10:30 a.m. and was adjourned after 1:30 p.m.
According to ISNA and other outlets, the next session has not been scheduled.
On the same day, judiciary spokesman Mohseni Ejei told a news conference that Mehr News Agency had broken the law by publishing the details of the first session of Jason Rezaian’s trial. “Based on existing laws, even the details of a public trial cannot be published, let alone a closed-door one,” he told reporters.
“We are pursuing the matter to find out how the agency got the information and why they published it,” he said.
To learn more about issues affecting journalists in Iran please visit: journalismisnotacrime.com
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