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Iran puts U.S. reporter on trial behind closed doors

Rogue Valley

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Iran puts U.S. reporter on trial behind closed doors

May 26, 2015

TEHRAN, Iran -- The closed trial of an American-Iranian reporter for the Washington Post detained in Iran for more than 10 months got underway Tuesday in a court used to hear security cases. Iran's official IRNA news agency said the trial of Jason Rezaian began in a Revolutionary Court, saying he had been charged with espionage and propaganda against the Islamic republic.

Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron told CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan the charges against Rezaian are "completely preposterous," and he fears the trial will not be fair. "He was put into solitary confinement for many months, under very harsh conditions in the worst prison in Iran," Baron told CBS News. "He's only been able to meet with his lawyer for an hour and a half." "While we still retain hope, we don't have a lot of confidence," Baron added.

Rezaian's mother Mary traveled to Tehran in the hope of being by her son's side for the trial, but the head of the Revolutionary Court -- a hardliner known within the country as the "judge of death" -- barred any members of the public from attending the proceedings. Ali Rezaian told CBS News that Rezaian's mother and wife, Salehi, went to the court and waited all day Tuesday, but were not allowed into the session.

Closed trial. No family or independent transparency allowed. Couldn't be due to any lack of credible evidence could it?


Note: The trial judge - Abolghassem Salavati - has been linked to the Iranian intelligence apparatus and is well known for miscarriages of justice.

"This group is among the most notorious judges in Iran," said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, an Iranian human rights activist in Norway. "They are known for their politicized verdicts, unfair trials [and] sentencing prisoners based on confessions made under duress."
Six judges accused of leading role in Iranian crackdown on free speech
 
Perhaps you should educate yourself to the practice here at home. A good essay here:

A time of terror may not be the ideal moment to trifle with the most time-tested postulates of government under law. It is certainly not a good time to dispense lightly with bedrock principles of our constitutional system. Central among those principles is that great power must be held in check and that the body that defines what conduct to outlaw, the body that prosecutes violators, and the body that adjudicates guilt and dispenses punishment should be three distinct entities. To fuse those three functions under one man’s ultimate rule, and to administer the resulting simulacrum of justice in a system of tribunals created by that very same authority, is to mock the very notion of constitutionalism and to make light of any
1 aspiration to live by the rule of law.


http://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/251_8op3oy2o.pdf
 
Trial? Try "Kangaroo court".

And has Obama been trying to free this man? Probably not...just like he hasn't given one **** about the American Pastor the Iranians have detained and abused for years.
 
"It's Obama's fault"... on the third post.

that didn't take very long.
 
Perhaps you should educate yourself to the practice here at home.
As always, when you can't defend your beloved Iran, you attempt to divert the topic. It's your favorite MO/SOP.
 
Evidence in Post reporter’s case is an Obama administration job application

It turns out that Iran has charged US journalist Jason Rezaian with being a spy because Mr. Rezaian filled out an online application in 2008 seeking a job with the new Obama administration. He was never hired and continued working as a freelance journalist in Tehran. He was hired by the Washington Post in 2012 as the newspaper’s full-time Tehran correspondent. Another piece of state "evidence" was a visa application for his Iranian wife to go to the U.S.


Another individual currently "on trial" in Iran...

Iranian artist could draw lengthy prison term for cartoons ridiculing parliament

Atena-Farghadani.jpg
 
Simpleχity;1064660700 said:
As always, when you can't defend your beloved Iran, you attempt to divert the topic. It's your favorite MO/SOP.

Closed door trials are common place is the point. Your posting a criticism of Iran doing this, that's fine. Do you post your complaints when the US does so, hmm?
 
Closed door trials are common place is the point. Your posting a criticism of Iran doing this, that's fine. Do you post your complaints when the US does so, hmm?
Once again, I refer back to Post 5...

Simpleχity;1064660700 said:
As always, when you can't defend your beloved Iran, you attempt to divert the topic. It's your favorite MO/SOP.
 
Simpleχity;1064679945 said:
Once again, I refer back to Post 5...

SOP circle jerk.
 
Simpleχity;1064679994 said:
Yes, you just can't break your MO...

Iran looks bad --> change the subject.

Forget about it. Montecresto's anti Americanism is on the same level of hilarity as RDS's.
 
Simpleχity;1064679994 said:
Yes, you just can't break your MO...

Iran looks bad --> change the subject.

But Iran doesn't look bad, you do.
 
Forget about it. Montecresto's anti Americanism is on the same level of hilarity as RDS's.

What are you 17-18? You're young and your face is round yet, you may not always be so patronizing.
 
But Iran doesn't look bad, you do.
Relax, it's no secret. You adore the Ayatollah's.

The closed and secret "trial" of US journalist Jason Rezaian will resume on Monday. Mr. Rezaian, who faces 20 years if convicted, is being tried by a judge known in Iran as the "judge of death" for his harsh sentences.
 
Simpleχity;1064686621 said:
Relax, it's no secret. You adore the Ayatollah's.

The closed and secret "trial" of US journalist Jason Rezaian will resume on Monday. Mr. Rezaian, who faces 20 years if convicted, is being tried by a judge known in Iran as the "judge of death" for his harsh sentences.

If he's guilty of his charges, he's going to wish he wasn't being tried in Iran. If he's not, then the U.S. state Department needs to intervene.
 
You should take it as a concession. The wrong being committed is so staggeringly blatant that Monty can't bring himself to even address it directly.
 
You should take it as a concession. The wrong being committed is so staggeringly blatant that Monty can't bring himself to even address it directly.

Look, governments charge individuals with espionage, we have no way of knowing if the charges are ever legitimate or not. I suppose it's your position that the American now being tried in Iran is innocent of his charges. He may and may not be, how would you know. Governments do in fact spy on each other.

Chinese military officials charged with stealing US data as tensions escalate
Eric Holder says the case 'demands an aggressive response' but Beijing calls allegations 'extremely ridiculous'

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/19/us-chinese-military-officials-cyber-espionage
 
This kind of "justice" is one of the few things that really makes me want us to war with the Middle East. Good people are suffering terribly under horrific regimes. We should rescue Raif Badawi and try the leaders of these nations, especially the Saudi royal family, for crimes against humanity. We won't do this, and it would be incredibly costly and impractical, but it's a nice a dream.
 
Look, governments charge individuals with espionage, we have no way of knowing if the charges are ever legitimate or not.
And we'll never know because the trial is closed and secretive.

But you see nothing wrong with this, just like you see nothing shady with Iran refusing IAEA inspections of suspected nuclear-military facilities.
 
Simpleχity;1064690039 said:
And we'll never know because the trial is closed and secretive.

But you see nothing wrong with this, just like you see nothing shady with Iran refusing IAEA inspections of suspected nuclear-military facilities.

That's not what I said. I said that we've had our own military tribunals that aren't open to public scrutiny. I'm not satisfied that an Iranian "spy" would receive a "fair" trial in America. Hell, I'm not certain that Bradley (Chelsey) Manning did. I'm not hopeful that this American is going to get a fair trial by any means, but that doesn't mean he's not guilty as charged. It's the risk that countries spy's accept when they are so employed.
 
That's not what I said. I said that we've had our own military tribunals that aren't open to public scrutiny. I'm not satisfied that an Iranian "spy" would receive a "fair" trial in America. Hell, I'm not certain that Bradley (Chelsey) Manning did.
Following your SOP ... diversion.

This story isn't about the US. It's about your beloved Iran.
 
Simpleχity;1064690060 said:
Following your SOP ... diversion.

This story isn't about the US. It's about your beloved Iran.

This story is about an American who has been arrested and charged with espionage. And of course no such trial will be held in the light of day.
 
This story is about an American who has been arrested and charged with espionage. And of course no such trial will be held in the light of day.
And why would that be?

If their evidence is strong enough to convict, it should also be strong enough to withstand public/legal scrutiny.
 
Simpleχity;1064690090 said:
And why would that be?

If their evidence is strong enough to convict, it should also be strong enough to withstand public/legal scrutiny.

Yes, they would want to make public, information that a spy was gathering. It's a dangerous occupation and not likely that spies ever see much justice. I have no hopes for justice with this guy and am somewhat perplexed that the Obama administration isn't doing more to secure his release???
 
I have no hopes for justice with this guy and am somewhat perplexed that the Obama administration isn't doing more to secure his release???

Obama values a nuclear deal with Iran more than he values US captives and has warned Congress that he would veto any bill making approval of a nuclear deal with Iran contingent on the release of Americans in Iranian captivity.

That said, Obama's odious behavior does not exculpate Iran's odious behavior.
 
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