Espionage trial of three Americans begins in Iran

AN IRANIAN court held closed-door proceedings yesterday in the espionage trial of three Americans — two in custody and one freed on bail — whose 18-month detention has been the subject of impassioned family appeals and backdoor outreach by Washington through an Arab ally in the Gulf.

The case also highlights the power of Iran’s judiciary, controlled directly by the nation’s ruling clerics. It has rejected apparent appeals by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to show some leniency.

But Ahmadinejad has also tried to draw attention to Iranians in US jails, indicating the detainees may be viewed as potential bargaining chips with Washington at a time of high- stakes showdowns over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Authorities in Tehran Revolutionary Court imposed a blanket ban on observers, including Swiss Ambassador Livia Leu Agosti, who represents US interests in the absence of direct diplomatic relations.

Details of the nearly five-hour hearing were not made public and it was unclear whether the two Americans in Iranian custody — Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal — were present in the Revolutionary Court, which deals with state security cases.

The third American, Bauer’s fiancee, Sarah Shourd, was released in September on $500,000 bail arranged through the Gulf nation of Oman, which maintains close ties to the West and Iran. She was ordered back to Tehran for the trial by Iranian officials and the bail will likely be forfeited because of her absence.

The Americans were detained in July 2009 along the Iraqi border.

They claim they were hiking in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and that if they crossed into Iran it was inadvertent.