Iran charges French woman, embassy workers with plot

          
          Iran charges French wonun, embassy workers with plot International Re http://www.reiserscom'arficle/worldNews/i4USTRE5735QE2009O8O8
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          Iran charges French woman,
          embassy workers with plot
          Sat Aug 8, 2009 2:35pm EDT
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          By Parisa Hafezi and Zahra Hosseinian
          TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian court on
          Saturday charged a French Woman, two
          Iranians working for the British and
          French embassies in Tehran and dozens
          of others with spying and aiding a
          Western plot to overthrow the system of
          clerical rule.
          FulISize The European Union, France and Britain
          all condemned the trial. The Swedish EU
          presidency said in a statement “action
          against one EU country, citizen or
          embassy staff, is considered an action
          against all of the EU.°
          “This is obviously a show trial directed
          against the EU,” Swedish Foreign Minister
          Carl Bildt told Reuters.
          It was the second mass trial in a week
          aimed at uprooting the moderate
          opposition and putting an end to protests
          that erupted after the disputed June 12
          presidential election.
          Ahmadinejad to win, but officials say it
          was the “healthiest” vote since the 1979
          Islamic revolution.
          At least 26 protesters have been killed
          and scores arrested in post-election
          violence. Moderates say the poll was
          rigged for President Mahmoud
          The protests have exposed deep rifts
          within the clerical establishment in Iran,
          the world's fifth biggest oil producer.
          French citizen Clotilde Reiss was charged
          with “acting against national security by
          taking part in unrest ... collecting news and information and sending
          pictures of the unrest abroad,” state news agency IRNA said.
          Espionage and acting against national security are punishable by death
          under Iran's Islamic law.
          Reiss, a teaching assistant, confessed her “mistakes” and asked for
          clemency, IRNA said. Nazak Afshar, an Iranian working for the French
          embassy, was also charged with “providing information over the vote
          unrest to foreigners.”
          “We were not authorized by the embassy to go to rallies but we were
          told to shelter protesters if necessary,” Afshar said.
          The British embassy employee, Hossein Rassam, was charged with
          espionage and confessed to handing information about the unrest to
          Washington, IRNA said.
          “The local staff were asked by their superiors at the British embassy to
          attend the riots,” IRNA quoted Rassam as telling the court. Rassam was
          freed on $100,000 bail on July 19.
          “Several British diplomats attended rallies ... The British ambassador
          anti thco rharnco rl'affairnc alcn MonF f t c a rally
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