Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists . Reporter Kasra Naji looks at the trial on espionage charges of 13 Jews in Iran. Both Israel and the United States have denied that the men were spies.
Authorities say national security concerns led to the trial being held in secret.
Under the Iranian system, the judge leads the investigation, hands down the verdict and is responsible for sentencing. Shortly after the adjournment, provincial judiciary chief Hossein Ali Amiri told reporters that four of the men had confessed to the charges and that Judge Sadeq Nourani had ruled the confessions admissible. Families of the men, who had been at the courthouse since early morning, broke down in tears when they heard the news of the confessions. They have steadfastly maintained the men's innocence. If such words have been said, they are totally baseless.