Delays in verdict for detained Americans a violation

 

Lawyer of the two detained Americans in Iran says that the case judge is violating court regulations by delaying the verdict over the week limit.

Massoud Shafii stated that according to Iranian law, the courts are required to issue their verdict a week after the final trial. Shafii told the Campaign for Human Rights: “Once the judge announces the end of the trial, he must run sentence right there or at most take a week to do so. Therefore in this case I have to say that the judge is in violation.”

Shane Baeur and Josh Fattal got their final trial on July 30, and yesterday, the spokesman for the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei announced that the court’s verdict for the two Americans will be issued soon.

Massoud Shafii added however: “In such sensitive cases they are so concerned about the content of the verdict that they do not pay attention to the administrative issues and delays in such cases are not unprecedented.”

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal are the two Americans that were detained in July of 2009 together with Sarah Shourd in the Iran-Iraq border regions for illegal entry.

Iranian authorities have accused them of espionage but they maintain that they entered Iranian territory inadvertently during a hiking trip in the mountainous regions of Iraq.

Sarah Shourd was released on bail in September for medical reasons.

 

Source

Latest news
Related news