An appeal to President Rouhani to uphold the Iranian constitution

Dear President Rouhani,

Welcome to New York.

You must be excited to be here. Everyone else seems to be, from the people who plan to protest your visit outside the UN, to those who have come to show their support for what you have achieved on the nuclear front, to those who are generally happy to see you appear anywhere.

Personally, I have been a supporter for some time. I have followed with enthusiasm your drive to make a deal happen, bring my country out of isolation and reduce the economic hardships of our people. You are the leader who was able to bring back hope to Iranians like myself.

But Dr Rouhani, it might have slipped your attention that while you were busy working on the Iran deal, articles of the constitution you swore to uphold upon your inauguration are being violated.

Consider the case of the Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian who is languishing in Iranian prison. In your meeting with the press on Friday, he was among the first topics you were asked about.

Were you aware that after the initial investigation concluded in Rezaian’s case it still took over five months for the judiciary to bring charges against him? Doesn’t our law state that a detainee must be either charged immediately or freed once the investigation is over?

Even if the law didn’t state it, doesn’t humanity - and Islam - dictate such an outcome?

Did you know that Rezaian had to wait 10 months for his day in court, or seven from the time he was charged, even though a trial must start within two months of a person being charged?

Were you aware that Rezaian had no access to an attorney for 200 days even though your foreign affairs minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, claimed otherwise?

Did you know that Rezaian was denied the legal representation of his choice, even though all Iranians are entitled to that right by law?

Did you know that every lawyer his family chose was rejected by the judge? In the end, his attorney was appointed by the judge himself.

Under article 165 of the Iranian constitution, all court proceedings must be open to the public unless the court finds the proceedings against common decency or in violation of public order. Also, according to article 168 of the constitution, “political and press crimes” must be open to the public and a jury impaneled to hear the case.

There are no lewd or sensational aspects to Rezaian’s case. So public decency and order could not have been an issue. Rezaian is either an ordinary prisoner or an political one. In either scenario, he was entitled to a public trial.

Jason Rezaian has been denied bail, even though he is not accused of murder. Under article 242 of the new penal code, he is eligible to be released on bail after having spent one year behind bars.

As you also know, by law, a verdict must be reached and passed to the defendant within two weeks of a trial’s conclusion. According to the Iranian press, Rezaian’s trial ended well over a month ago on 10 August. According to the same sources, a verdict has been reached in his case, yet it has not been communicated to him.

Dr Rouhani, please ask yourself what can be gained from keeping Rezaian in jail. Is it worth the bad press? Is it worth the price Iran will have to pay to mend its reputation? If this incarceration is being prolonged to secure a prisoner swap, please expedite it.

Please keep in mind that the rest of the world does not understand the intricacies of Iranian negotiating tactics. When you feign disinterest in a swap, as you did for long in this case, it does not mean that world leaders will understand your mastery of Persian posturing to mean that this is your very way of signaling profound interest. The world takes what you say at face value.

When you were asked about political prisoners and jailed journalists, you said you have no jurisdiction in the matter, that “it is mainly in the hands of the judiciary.” No one interprets this as a shining example of a law-abiding president adhering to separation of powers; it’s just another example of a president with no authority at home.

The world sees this as a sign of your dishonesty. This does not become a president who achieved what has eluded everyone else in the Islamic Republic: despite treacherous opposition at home and in the United States, you brought these two longtime foes to the negotiating table. That must have been far more difficult than convincing members of the Iranian judiciary to follow the law. I’m sure as a lawyer, you will not continue to stand by and watch this gross miscarriage of justice.

Clearly, Rezaian has not been afforded the rights of an Iranian national. Article 35 of the Iranian penal code states that foreign nationals can be expelled temporarily or permanently after a verdict is reached. In this case then, you have the power to declare him a foreign national. Sentence him. Expel him from Iran, if you think that will serve the purpose of teaching everyone some kind of lesson. Mark it off as a lesson learned. Let him go.

Yours sincerely,

An Anonymous (I’m sure you understand why) Iranian Journalist

The Tehran Bureau is an independent media organisation, hosted by the Guardian. Contact us @tehranbureau