Senior Iranian rabbi meets spy case judge
TEHRAN, April 5 (Reuters) - The spiritual leader of Iran's Jews has
met the judge in the case of 13 co-religionists charged with spying on
behalf of Israel, Iranian state radio reported on Wednesday.
The 13, detained along with eight Moslems, could face the death penalty.
"Rabbi Yousef Haim Hamedani Cohen, religious leader of the Iranian
Jews, met with the judge on the case of the 13 Jews accused of spying,"
the radio said.
It said the judge of a revolutionary court in the southern city of Shiraz
asked the Jewish community to help ensure the suspects were properly represented
by lawyers.
The judge said he was prepared to waive the deadline for appointing
counsel, which had already passed, in order to resolve a row over legal
representation.
The trial has been set for April 13 but there are indications it may
be delayed, in part because of a running dispute over lawyers for the accused.
The trial date also coincides with the beginning of the Islamic month
of Moharram, when religious sentiment among the majority Shi'ite Moslems
runs particularly high.
On Monday, the spokesman for the judiciary said the accused had been
assigned experienced lawyers by the bar association after the defendants
failed to name their own counsel.
But he said a delay was likely if new lawyers were appointed and requested
additional time to prepare their defence.
In Geneva, the United Nations human rights investigator for Iran last
week urged a fair trial for the 13, saying 10 of them had been denied access
to the lawyers they wanted.
Authorities have not given details of the case against the defendants,
saying only that they allegedly passed secret information to the Jewish
state, Iran's arch-enemy. Israel has denied any ties to the defendants.
The case has triggered an international outcry and threatens to cloud
President Mohammad Khatami's drive for better ties with the West. Israel
has denied any connection to the defendants.
For its part, Iran has promised the defendants will receive a fair trial
regardless of their religious faith.
In Paris on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said France
and other western countries would base Iran's capacity to develop on the
way it handles the case of the 13 Iranian Jews. He told the National Assembly
the case reflected a power struggle between modernisers and Islamic hardliners
in Iran.
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