Iran has
sentenced detained Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian to an unspecified
prison term following his conviction last month on charges that include
espionage, Iranian state TV reported Sunday.
Gholam Hossein
Mohseni Ejehi, the spokesman for Iran's judiciary, announced the punishment in
a statement on the TV station's website.
"In
brief, it is a prison sentence," he said. The verdict is "not
finalized," he added, referring to an expected appeal.
Rezaian's
lawyer, Leila Ahsan, told The Associated Press she had not been informed of the
verdict — let alone details of the sentence.
"I have
no information about details of the verdict," she said. "We were
expecting the verdict some three months ago."
Rezaian was
detained with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and two photojournalists on July 22,
2014. All were later released except Rezaian, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen.
Rezaian went
on trial in four closed-door court hearings at Tehran's Revolutionary Court
over the past months. Last month, he was convicted of spying and other charges.
The Post has
vigorously denied the accusations against its correspondent.
Rezaian, who
has covered Iran for the Post since 2012, grew up in Marin County, California
and spent most of his life in the United States. The Post, U.S. officials and
Rezaian's family have all called for his release. Iran does not recognize
dual-nationality.
Iran's state
media, citing the indictment, have said Rezaian collected information on
Iranian and foreign individuals and companies circumventing sanctions and
passed them on to the U.S. government. Iranian state TV has repeatedly called
Rezaian an "American spy."
Earlier this
month, the intelligence department of the powerful elite Revolutionary Guard
claimed in a report to parliament that Rezaian is an agent seeking to
"overthrow" Iran's Islamic ruling system.
His
incarceration and trial played out as Iran and five world powers, including the
U.S., negotiated a landmark agreement in which the Islamic Republic agreed to
curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Source: AP
