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| Hard-line judge reportedly assigned case of Post reporter Jason Rezaian, jailed in Iran | Hard-line judge reportedly assigned case of Post reporter Jason Rezaian, jailed in Iran |
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| An Iranian judge known as the “hanging judge” for his harsh sentencing practices has been named to hear the case of a Washington Post reporter who has been imprisoned in Tehran for more than half a year, a human rights group said Saturday. | An Iranian judge known as the “hanging judge” for his harsh sentencing practices has been named to hear the case of a Washington Post reporter who has been imprisoned in Tehran for more than half a year, a human rights group said Saturday. |
| Jason Rezaian, The Post’s Tehran bureau chief, will be tried before Revolutionary Court Judge Abolghassem Salavati, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. In a report posted on its Web site, the advocacy group said the Iranian judiciary had announced that the 38-year-old reporter would be put on trial “soon,” though it provided no further information on the precise nature of the charges he faces. | Jason Rezaian, The Post’s Tehran bureau chief, will be tried before Revolutionary Court Judge Abolghassem Salavati, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. In a report posted on its Web site, the advocacy group said the Iranian judiciary had announced that the 38-year-old reporter would be put on trial “soon,” though it provided no further information on the precise nature of the charges he faces. |
| The Web site quoted a defense lawyer, Mohammed Saleh Nikbakht, who has been seeking to represent Rezaian, as saying he has told Rezaian’s family that “for certain reasons,” he cannot do so. The reporter has not seen a lawyer since he was taken into “temporary detention” July 22. On Wednesday, the head of the Tehran judiciary, Gholamhossein Esmaeeli, said the result of the trial would be announced after a verdict has been reached. | The Web site quoted a defense lawyer, Mohammed Saleh Nikbakht, who has been seeking to represent Rezaian, as saying he has told Rezaian’s family that “for certain reasons,” he cannot do so. The reporter has not seen a lawyer since he was taken into “temporary detention” July 22. On Wednesday, the head of the Tehran judiciary, Gholamhossein Esmaeeli, said the result of the trial would be announced after a verdict has been reached. |
| The Post’s executive editor, Martin Baron, said in a statement Sunday: “There has been no justice in the case of our colleague Jason Rezaian since the beginning. He was held for months without knowing the accusations against him. Now that the case is proceeding to trial, the charges still have not been specified. He still hasn’t been allowed to see a lawyer. This case has unfolded, and continues to unfold, without a hint of fairness and justice. Jason should be released immediately. What has happened to him is an abomination and deserves the world’s condemnation.” | The Post’s executive editor, Martin Baron, said in a statement Sunday: “There has been no justice in the case of our colleague Jason Rezaian since the beginning. He was held for months without knowing the accusations against him. Now that the case is proceeding to trial, the charges still have not been specified. He still hasn’t been allowed to see a lawyer. This case has unfolded, and continues to unfold, without a hint of fairness and justice. Jason should be released immediately. What has happened to him is an abomination and deserves the world’s condemnation.” |
| The Iranian jurist selected to preside over the case is notorious for his actions as head of the Revolutionary Court’s Branch 15, responsible for adjudicating cases involving what Iran considers national security crimes and what human rights activists deem to be politically motivated charges. Iranian authorities have not explained why Rezaian has been detained, beyond offering a vague statement saying he is accused of activities beyond the scope of journalism. | The Iranian jurist selected to preside over the case is notorious for his actions as head of the Revolutionary Court’s Branch 15, responsible for adjudicating cases involving what Iran considers national security crimes and what human rights activists deem to be politically motivated charges. Iranian authorities have not explained why Rezaian has been detained, beyond offering a vague statement saying he is accused of activities beyond the scope of journalism. |
| The assignment of Rezaian’s case to Salavati’s courtroom appears to sharpen an ongoing struggle between moderates surrounding President Hassan Rouhani and hard-liners allied with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. | The assignment of Rezaian’s case to Salavati’s courtroom appears to sharpen an ongoing struggle between moderates surrounding President Hassan Rouhani and hard-liners allied with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. |
| Salavati is among a handful of Revolutionary Court judges known for the stiff sentences they impose on those who challenge the government’s authority. They have meted out lengthy prison terms and lashings as punishment for alleged offenses by journalists, lawyers, activists and minority groups. Salavati regularly imposes the harshest sentences of all, including the death penalty for anti-government protesters. That has earned him a reputation as a hanging judge, or as human rights groups call him, the “judge of death.” | Salavati is among a handful of Revolutionary Court judges known for the stiff sentences they impose on those who challenge the government’s authority. They have meted out lengthy prison terms and lashings as punishment for alleged offenses by journalists, lawyers, activists and minority groups. Salavati regularly imposes the harshest sentences of all, including the death penalty for anti-government protesters. That has earned him a reputation as a hanging judge, or as human rights groups call him, the “judge of death.” |
| “He’s responsible for handing down some very, very severe sentences,” said Faraz Sanei, an Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Most of the really high-profile cases have gone to him. It’s not entirely clear to me why.” | “He’s responsible for handing down some very, very severe sentences,” said Faraz Sanei, an Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Most of the really high-profile cases have gone to him. It’s not entirely clear to me why.” |
| Many of those cases have gained international attention, prompting the European Union in 2011 to place sanctions on Salavati and other Iranian law-enforcement officials who the bloc said had committed human rights abuses. Salavati has never been sanctioned by the United States, according to an official from the Treasury Department, which maintains the list of individuals and institutions under sanctions. | Many of those cases have gained international attention, prompting the European Union in 2011 to place sanctions on Salavati and other Iranian law-enforcement officials who the bloc said had committed human rights abuses. Salavati has never been sanctioned by the United States, according to an official from the Treasury Department, which maintains the list of individuals and institutions under sanctions. |
| In a case that was widely publicized in the United States, Salavati imposed an eight-year prison sentence on two American hikers who were picked up near Iran’s border with Iraq in 2009 and accused of espionage. After spending more than two years in prison, the two were released on bail. | In a case that was widely publicized in the United States, Salavati imposed an eight-year prison sentence on two American hikers who were picked up near Iran’s border with Iraq in 2009 and accused of espionage. After spending more than two years in prison, the two were released on bail. |
| Salavati has frequently locked up critics of the government. In 2012, he gave the daughter of the moderate former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, six months in jail after she said in an interview with a foreign, Persian-language online publication that the country was being run by “thugs and hoodlums.” She was charged with engaging in “propaganda against the system.” | Salavati has frequently locked up critics of the government. In 2012, he gave the daughter of the moderate former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, six months in jail after she said in an interview with a foreign, Persian-language online publication that the country was being run by “thugs and hoodlums.” She was charged with engaging in “propaganda against the system.” |
| For many Iranians, Salavati’s name is intimately connected with the show trials of hundreds of protesters arrested after the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009. Dozens were paraded before the judge in nationally televised proceedings in which they confessed to participating in protests inspired by Western intelligence agencies. Several of the protesters were sentenced to death, including one who had admitted to throwing a rock. | For many Iranians, Salavati’s name is intimately connected with the show trials of hundreds of protesters arrested after the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009. Dozens were paraded before the judge in nationally televised proceedings in which they confessed to participating in protests inspired by Western intelligence agencies. Several of the protesters were sentenced to death, including one who had admitted to throwing a rock. |
| “He’s known for issuing death sentences and very heavy prison sentences for basically political charges,” said Rod Sanjabi, executive director of the Connecticut-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. “Typically, the chances are there has been coercion and the extraction of a confession, and the likelihood of inadequate rights of counsel. That is how cases function in the Revolutionary courts. But even within that context, he has a reputation of being a hanging judge with no apparent legal knowledge.” | “He’s known for issuing death sentences and very heavy prison sentences for basically political charges,” said Rod Sanjabi, executive director of the Connecticut-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. “Typically, the chances are there has been coercion and the extraction of a confession, and the likelihood of inadequate rights of counsel. That is how cases function in the Revolutionary courts. But even within that context, he has a reputation of being a hanging judge with no apparent legal knowledge.” |
| Sanei, of Human Rights Watch, said some former prisoners and lawyers who have appeared in court before Salavati say they were not allowed to present a defense. Others accuse the judge of being a rubber stamp for Iran’s intelligence services. | Sanei, of Human Rights Watch, said some former prisoners and lawyers who have appeared in court before Salavati say they were not allowed to present a defense. Others accuse the judge of being a rubber stamp for Iran’s intelligence services. |
| “A lot of people we’ve spoken to in the last five or six years claim there was actually collusion between the judiciary, especially the Revolutionary Court, and the Ministry of Intelligence,” Sanei said. | “A lot of people we’ve spoken to in the last five or six years claim there was actually collusion between the judiciary, especially the Revolutionary Court, and the Ministry of Intelligence,” Sanei said. |
| Despite his notoriety, Salavati remains a shadowy figure. His résumé is unknown, and it is not clear he ever attended law school. It’s also not certain that Salavati is his real name. According to Sanei, many Revolutionary Court judges use pseudonyms. | Despite his notoriety, Salavati remains a shadowy figure. His résumé is unknown, and it is not clear he ever attended law school. It’s also not certain that Salavati is his real name. According to Sanei, many Revolutionary Court judges use pseudonyms. |
| Salavati and other Revolutionary Court judges do not have the last word in the Iranian judicial system, though. Death-penalty cases automatically go to the Supreme Court for a final decision, while national security cases are sent to appellate courts that often reduce, but sometimes increase, prison terms. | Salavati and other Revolutionary Court judges do not have the last word in the Iranian judicial system, though. Death-penalty cases automatically go to the Supreme Court for a final decision, while national security cases are sent to appellate courts that often reduce, but sometimes increase, prison terms. |
| Rezaian is a dual American-Iranian citizen, a status that the Iranian government says renders him subject to Iranian laws. His family has reported that his health is failing and that his emotional strength is waning during his lengthy time behind bars. | Rezaian is a dual American-Iranian citizen, a status that the Iranian government says renders him subject to Iranian laws. His family has reported that his health is failing and that his emotional strength is waning during his lengthy time behind bars. |
| Secretary of State John F. Kerry and other U.S. officials have used talks with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program as a forum to raise the issue of the incarceration of Rezaian and other Americans jailed in Iran. | Secretary of State John F. Kerry and other U.S. officials have used talks with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program as a forum to raise the issue of the incarceration of Rezaian and other Americans jailed in Iran. |
| On Sunday, the State Department said it had seen the latest reports. “We continue to call for Jason’s immediate release so that he can be reunited with his family,” said an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in accordance with department protocol. |