Iran's President Hassan Rouhani listens during a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York September 23, 2014.POOL/Reuters
Iran's conservative politicians are aiming to consolidate their grip on power next February at the polls with early clampdowns as they brought the number of dual citizens behind bars to four and incarcerated another 33 local reporters this month.
Four Iranian-Americans are held by the Revolutionary Guards, the military force aligned with conservative politicians who are competing for more power ahead of two key elections. Iranians will go to the polls to elect a new parliament in February as well as members of the Assembly of Experts, the body that would be responsible to appoint a new supreme leader in case the current leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, 76, dies. The supreme leader has the final word on state matters.
A vetting body known as the Guardian Council will vet hopefuls for both elections and bar anyone who opposes the regime. But both parliament and the Assembly of Experts will be instrumental in defining the country's political course.
Conservatives are trying to maintain their grip on power and sideline moderate politicians led by President Hassan Rouhani. The four dual citizens, as well as some 33 local reporters and activists who were arrested this month, according to a count by the Center for the Defenders of Human Rights, are victims of political infighting ahead of the elections.
The arrest of dual citizens is aimed at making the President appear powerless and undermining his efforts to normalize ties with the West after a historic deal this year that ended a standoff with the international community over Iran's nuclear program. The arrest of local reporters can cripple the moderate's ability to galvanize public support ahead of the vote.
On Sunday, the judiciary spokesman confirmed a prison term for Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter who has been jailed for the past 16 months. Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the spokesman, who was speaking at a news conference, confirmed Mr. Rezaian's conviction for a second time since October but did not specify the details of his conviction or the length of his prison term.
Mr. Rezaian was tried behind closed doors and his lawyer, Leila Ahsan, has not received the verdict yet.
"The judiciary has presented no evidence to support the spying charges against Jason," Mr. Rezaian's brother, Ali, said in an interview. "His lawyer, who read the case, says they have absolutely no evidence against him."
Mr. Rezaian's conviction, in addition to previous jail terms for a Christian pastor, Saeed Abedini, and a former U.S. Marine Corps sergeant, Amir Hekmati, have dashed hopes for the release of the fourth Iranian-American, Siamak Namazi. Mr. Namazi, a Dubai-based businessman, was arrested in mid-October. He was visiting his family in Tehran when authorities ransacked his parent's apartment, confiscated his computer and passport and took Mr. Namazi into custody.
His family had initially kept the news of his arrest quiet in the hope of his release.
As these men languish in prison, authorities continue to warn their families that publicizing their cases would complicate their situation.
"The judge has told the family that if Western media write or speak about his arrest, he would interpret the attention as proof that he is a spy," said the relative of one of the four men who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"From one side, the family is worried that he would just linger in prison and be forgotten; from the other side, their loved one is behind bars and they need to stay on the good side of the judge."
Mr. Rezaian's wife, Yeganeh Salehi, also a reporter who lives in Tehran, was jailed for two months. Since her release 14 months ago, she has been banned from working, speaking to the media and hiring a lawyer.
Iranians have sided with moderate politicians in nearly all elections since 1997, hoping they would grant more social and political freedoms. Anger toward the conservatives and the Revolutionary Guards intensified after the 2009 presidential elections, when many believed the two groups helped former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rig the votes and then violently suppress the protests against him.
Before Mr. Namazi was arrested, Iranian authorities had suggested trading the three Iranian-Americans for a number of convicted Iranian-Americans jailed in the United States. Mr. Rouhani also suggested a prisoner swap while he was in New York during the United Nations General Assembly.
"This shows a complete hypocrisy," Mr. Rezaian's brother said. "Jason is innocent. They have dragged out his detention illegally for 16 months and have now handed down a verdict that is absolutely baseless."