Iran says Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian convicted of widely criticized charges

Late Sunday, Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeh said on state TV that The Washington Post's jailed Tehran bureau chief, Jason Rezaian, has been found guilty on some combination of charges that he had collected sensitive information that affected Iran's national security. "He has been convicted, but I don't have the verdict's details," the spokesman said, adding that Rezaian has 20 days to appeal the verdict. Rezaian's lawyer, Leila Ashan, told The Associated Press on Sunday that she also has not seen a verdict and that as far as she knew, "there are no new developments."

The U.S. State Department and press-freedom organizations have criticized Rezaian's incarceration and secret trial. In the Reuters video below, Washington Post foreign editor Douglas Jehl says he believes Rezaian's imprisonment is a political bargaining chip, with the ultimate verdict up to Iran's politicians rather than its judiciary. "Top Iranian officials in September floated the idea of a prisoner exchange involving Rezaian and at least two other Americans held in Iran," The Washington Post reports, noting that last week their reporter passed the "grim milestone" of being held longer than the U.S. Embassy workers in the Iran hostage crisis. Peter Weber

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