State Department appeals for scholar’s release

(AP) WASHINGTON - The State Department is asserting the innocence of an Iranian-American academic sentenced by an Iranian court on charges related to anti-government protests that followed the disputed June presidential election.

State Department spokesman Ian C. Kelly says scholar Kian Tajbakhsh poses no threat to the Iranian government or Iranian national security. Kelly says Tajbakhsh should be released immediately.

Tajbakhsh has been the only American in an ongoing mass trial of alleged Iranian opposition members. He reportedly faced charges including espionage, contacting foreign agents and acting against Iran’s national security.

Kelly called Tajbakhsh an independent and internationally respected academic.