DATE=5/17/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAN / SPY TRIAL (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262481
BYLINE=LISA BRYANT
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The last of ten key Jewish defendants in a spy
trial in southern Iran appeared in court today. So
far, eight of the 13 Jews on trial have admitted to
charges of spying for Israel. From Cairo, Lisa Bryant
reports that it's unclear whether the latest defendant
has admitted to espionage as well.
TEXT: Defense lawyer Esmail Nasseri said Javid Bent-
Yacoub has admitted to collecting photographs of
Iranian military and industrial facilities for Israel.
But, his lawyer said, Mr. Bent-Yacoub said he was
unaware that doing so amounted to espionage.
Lawyer Nasseri also said his client had denied charges
that he was a member of a spy ring, or had carried out
propaganda against the Iranian government. Instead,
Mr. Bent-Yacoub reportedly said he had shared the
material with a group that met only for religious
worship.
But Iran's official news agency said Mr. Bent-Yacoub
had admitted to spying, in an interview Wednesday
afternoon. It said the man told the news agency he had
begun spying for Israel in 1981, and that he had met
with Israeli intelligence agents on one or two
occasions. The agency also reported Mr. Bent-Yacoub
said religious sentiment drove him to send information
to Israel through an espionage network.
The conflicting reports about Mr. Bent-Yacoub's
confessions mirror the larger confusion surrounding
the spy trial, which began last month in the southern
Iranian city of Shiraz. At least eight of the 10 Jews
who have appeared in court so far have pleaded guilty.
One has pleaded innocent. Three other Jewish suspects,
along with nine Muslims have not yet appeared in
court.
International Jewish and human rights groups, along
with foreign governments, have expressed concern about
the closed-door proceedings. Defense lawyers argue
that apart from the guilty pleas, the court has no
evidence to support charges that the Iranian Jews
spied for Israel. For its part, the Israeli
government says the charges are unfounded.
International groups also fear those found guilty
could be sentenced to death. But court officials say
none of the defendants so far has been charged with a
crime that could carry the death penalty.
The Shiraz spy trial is only part of a larger turmoil
in Iran, where political moderates and conservatives
are battling for power. Moderates have recently swept
the polls in a second round of parliamentary
elections. But the conservative Press Court has also
dampened the reformist voice, by shutting down more
than a dozen moderate publications, including one this
week.
At another court in the capital Tehran Wednesday, five
men were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three
to 15 years on charges of attempting to kill newspaper
publisher Saeed Hajjarian. Mr. Hajjarian -- a
moderate who is closely allied to Iranian President
Mohammed Khatami -- is recovering from the shooting
attack. (Signed)
NEB/lb/gm
17-May-2000 14:34 PM EDT (17-May-2000 1834 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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