Iranian Media have declared that Post Correspondent Jason Rezaian has been convicted

The verdict may have taken some time, but the Iranian media have confirmed that Jason Rezaian, who was a Washington Post correspondent, has been convicted. The verdict has been strongly condemned by colleagues and family of the journalist along with the U.S. government. A spokesman for Tehran’s Revolutionary Court released a statement that said Jason Rezaian, 39, had been convicted. No specifics on the charges involved were released and if a sentence had been imposed on the guilty.

Jason Rezaian had been charged on four separate charges, one of which was espionage. The judge presiding over the case is known for applying harsh sentences and it is being estimated that Rezaian could face a sentence from 10 to 20 years. The Washington Post and Rezaian have both denied the allegations that were levied against them and the prosecution has drawn massive denunciations, including statements from press freedom groups and the White House.

An Outrageous Injustice

Executive editor of the Washington Post, Martin Baron, described the verdict as contemptible and an outrageous injustice, and blamed Iran for behaving unconscionably throughout the case. There have been widespread claims of injustice from various sources who have been outraged at the conviction of an innocent journalist, after the proceedings were held in secret, without any evidence that suggests wrongdoing.

There has been no announcement of the sentence that Rezaian would have to serve, and this has increased speculation, on whether the U.S. will agree to a prisoner swap with Iran. This comes after the president of Iran Hassan Rouhani, floated the idea that Iranian authorities, that he would release Rezaian and two other Iranian American prisoners, if Washington agreed to release the 19 Iranian citizens that are in U.S. custody.

A Fair Trade

The Iranians have not released any details as to which prisoners they are referring to, since there have been lots of Iranian Americans and Iranians that have been convicted by the United States. As of yet the U.S. officials have decided not to comment on any possible swap of convicted prisoners between Iran and the United States. Reports from the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, which is state run, indicated that Rezaian had been accused of spying on the Irans nuclear programand sent information to the U.S. government about the companies and people who were skirting the sanctions. They claimed that the information transferred by Rezaian to the American government was instrumental in landing many Iranian businessmen and companies on the sanctions list by the US.

The trial of Jason Rezaian had been held behind closed doors, and the attorneys were barred from disclosing any information about the proceedings, which means that the only details released have come from the Iranian news reports. Ali Rezaian revealed that his younger brother, whose mental and physical health are deteriorating fast in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, knows that the verdict has been announced, but has no details. His wife, Yehaneh Salehi and mother went to the courts on Monday, along with a defense lawyer to gather more information about the verdict, but came back empty handed.