Thaindian News

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) — A member of the British embassy in Iran, who was recently released after being held by authorities on charges of being involved in unrest following the country’s presidential election, has been put on trial, the British Foreign Office confirmed on Saturday.

Earlier this morning in Tehran, a mass trial began for people accused of charges relating to the election unrest. These so-called “mass trials” have been internationally criticized as being unfair. “We can confirm that Hossein Rassam is pictured among the accused at the mass trial which began in Tehran this morning,” a spokesperson for the British foreign office said in a brief statement.

Rassam was one of several embassy staff members who were detained by Iranian authorities, but he was the only one who was actually charged with a crime. Britain has repeatedly condemned the detention and accusations against its embassy staff, for which Iranian authorities have not provided any clear evidence to justify its actions. In early July, President Obama also condemned the detention of embassy staff members and called the move “unacceptable.”

In response to Rassam’s sudden trial, the British Foreign Office said: “This is completely unacceptable and directly contradicts assurances we had been given repeatedly by senior Iranian officials. We deplore these trials and the so-called confessions of prisoners who have been denied their basic humans rights.”

The British ambassador in Tehran has demanded an early clarification of the positions from Iranian authorities. “We will then decide on how to respond to this latest outrage,” the statement concluded.