Britain outraged as Iran tries embassy staffer

An Iranian employee of the British embassy in Tehran who was detained then bailed during post-election protests in June, was on Saturday put on trial for spying in a move slammed by Downing Street as an "outrage."

Foreign journalists were barred from the courtroom but Iranian state media said that embassy political analyst Hossein Rassam told the court he had been instructed by his superiors to monitor the protests for the British government.

"Based on the order of British embassy, the local staff were asked to be present in the riots along with Tom Burn and Paul Blemey," the official IRNA news agency quoted Rassam as saying in reference to two British diplomats expelled by Tehran in June.

The move prompted tit-for-tat expulsions by London.

The Foreign Office reacted angrily to Iran's decision to put Rassam on trial, saying it contradicted assurances given to the embassy.

It questioned the credibility of any statements made by those put on trial given Iran's human rights record.

"We deplore these trials and the so-called confessions of prisoners who have been denied their basic human rights," a spokeswoman said in London.

"This is completely unacceptable and directly contradicts assurances we had been given repeatedly by senior Iranian officials.

"Our ambassador in Tehran has demanded early clarification of the position from the Iranian authorities. We will then decide on how to respond to this latest outrage."

The Iranian state media quoted the trial judge as saying that the allegations against Rassam merited a charge of espionage.

"Based on the charges read out by the Tehran prosecution, you are accused of spying for foreigners," the judge was quoted as saying by IRNA, which identified him by only the single name Salavati.

Prosecutors alleged that Rassam and another Iranian employee of the embassy who was also briefly detained had reported to the British government on the protests over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed June 12 re-election.

"You along with Arash Momenian were given the duty of meeting representatives of political groups, ethnic and religious minorities, and student groups and to relay the news of Iran's riots to London," it quoted the prosecutor as telling the court.

Rassam, who was arrested on June 27, had been been released on bail on July 19 on a surety of one billion rials (100,000 dollars).

He was among nine Iranian staff of the British embassy arrested amid the protests that followed the publication of the official election results. The others were released without charge.

In the dock with Rassam on Saturday was French embassy Iranian employee Nazak Afshar, who was detained on Thursday, and French lecturer Clotilde Reiss, 24, who has been in custody since July 1.

Rassam told the court that a number of British diplomats had gone out to monitor the June protests in Tehran by supporters of Ahmadinejad's main challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

"Burn was at the protests in Motahari and Sanaie streets in Tehran on June 14 and Patrick Davis was also present at the march from Enghelab Street to Sharif Technical University," he said.

"On June 18 Paul Blemey took photographs of the gatherings on Ferdowsi street. The ambassador along with charge d'affaires took part in witnessing a rally of Mousavi supporters."

Senior Iranian figures have repeatedly accused Britain of orchestrating the opposition demonstrations, which were put down by security forces amid the worst turmoil in the Islamic republic's 30-year history.