Summary The 39-year-old Iranian-American has been in custody for more than a year.
TEHRAN (AFP) - The trial of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian resumed Monday in Tehran, in what could be the final hearing before a judgment is issued on whether he spied on Iran.
The 39-year-old Iranian-American has been in custody for more than a year and his trial has been held behind closed doors. His family and employer have denounced the proceedings as a sham.
The official IRNA news agency reported that the latest hearing was under way but gave no details about Rezaian s court appearance.
His lawyer has said she was told that Monday s trial hearing -- the fourth in the case -- would be the last but she could not "be 100 percent sure."
On Sunday, a top judicial official appeared to cast doubt on when the trial would end.
"The court decides which hearing will be the last one," said Gholam Hossein Esmaili, chief of Tehran s justice department.
"Until then one cannot judge about it."
Rezaian s trial, on charges of "espionage, collaboration with hostile governments, gathering classified information and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic republic," started in May.
The case has been heard by a Revolutionary Court, which usually presides over political cases or those related to national security.
Rezaian, the Post s Tehran correspondent, was arrested with his wife Yeganeh Salehi, also a journalist, at their home in Tehran on July 22, 2014.
Salehi and a photographer who was arrested on the same day were released on bail after two and a half months in custody.
Rezaian s wife has not worked since and she is barred from discussing the case.
Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron on Saturday criticised the trial and the conditions of Rezaian s incarceration.
"Iran has behaved unconscionably throughout this travesty of a case," he said.
"It has imprisoned an innocent journalist for more than a year and subjected him to physical mistreatment and psychological abuse.
"The secret court proceedings that began on May 25 have been a farce."
