Official: Iran issues Washington Post reporter verdict

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's official news agency reported Sunday that the verdict against a jailed Washington Post reporter has been issued.

The Sunday report quotes judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi as saying that Iran's judiciary has issued its verdict against Jason Rezaian, although initially he did not say what the verdict was exactly.

Later, Ejehi told state news agency IRNA that Rezaian had been convicted, but he still provided no further information.

"He has been convicted. ... But I don't have the details ofhis verdict," the news agency quoted Ejehi as saying, according to Reuters.

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Ejehi said the verdict can be appealed within 20 days.

In a statement, Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post said: "This vague and puzzling statement by the government of Iran only adds to the injustice that has surrounded Jason's case since his arrest 15 months ago. Jason is a victim -- arrested without cause, held for months in isolation, without access to a lawyer, subjected to physical mistreatment and psychological abuse, and now convicted without basis."

Rezaian, the Post's Tehran bureau chief, is accused of charges including espionage in a closed-door trial that has been widely criticized by the U.S. government and press freedom organizations. He reportedly faces up to 10 to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Rezaian, his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and two photojournalists were detained along with him on July 22, 2014, in Tehran. All were later released except Rezaian. Salehi, a journalist for The National newspaper in the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi, reportedly has been banned from leaving Iran.

Rezaian, the Post's Tehran bureau chief since 2012, has dual Iranian-American nationality. Iran does not recognize dual-nationality.

His trial was heard in Revolutionary Court, which typically hears cases involving national security and other sensitive issues. The judge in the case, Abolghassem Salavati, is known for his tough sentences and has heard other politically charged cases, including those of protesters arrested in connection with demonstrations that followed the 2009 presidential elections.

He reportedly faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

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