France/Iran - Clotilde Reiss

Reiss's lawyer confident of acquittal, ahead of verdict

Article published on the 2010-01-16 Latest update 2010-01-17 09:01 TU

Clotilde Reiss in her first court hearing, 8 August 2009
(Photo: Reuters)

Mohammad Ali Mahdavi Sabet, the lawyer for French academic Clotilde Reiss has said he is confident that she will be acquitted, ahead of the Iranian court's final verdict which is expected within a week.

Sabet told the AFP news agency on  Saturday that he was “very confident and optimistic” after a two-hour hearing, which was the final one in the long-running case

"She and I made our last defence submissions," he said. "In my closing statement for the defence, I rejected all the accusations against her and said that she has not committed any crime."

After the session Reiss returned to the French embassy where she has been staying since securing bail in August.

Reiss is accused of acting against Iran’s national security during June’s anti-government protests.