TEHRAN - The second session of the trials of detainees arrested during the post-election unrest was held in Tehran on Saturday.

About 100 defendants appeared in court, including journalists, Iranian citizen Hossein Rassam, who is the British Embassy’s chief political analyst, French teacher Clotilde Reiss, and an Iranian woman who is an employee of the French Embassy, identified only as Ms. Ashfar.
In the indictment, the defendants were accused of involvement in plans by foreign countries and opponents of the Islamic Republic to engineer a “soft collapse” of the Islamic system and involvement in foreign interference in the post-election unrest.
The indictment said the plans included efforts to create insecurity and foment discord in Iran, to contain Iran’s regional power, to support so-called human rights groups, labor unions, business organizations, and civil rights groups opposed to the Islamic Republic, and to encourage the imposition of economic sanctions on the country.
The indictment said these plans were pursued through “public diplomacy” and “covert action” by taking advantage of the freedom in the country.
According to the investigations and confessions made by the accused, the main actions were directed by foreign governments, especially Britain, the indictment said.
It added that the British Embassy had contacts with Iranian political parties, its diplomats visited various Iranian cities, especially Qom, and its staff made serious efforts to gather information about the post-election skirmishes.
The British ambassador had also advised local staffers to assess the situation in other cities and report back, the indictment stated.
In addition, the British Embassy tried to fill the vacuum left by the Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies by establishing contacts with elites, political parties, and political figures, the indictment added.
The indictment stated that after the June 12 presidential election, certain foreigners attempted to undermine the status of velayat-e faqih (the rule of the supreme jurisprudent), cause a schism in Iranian society, create an atmosphere of animosity between political figures, challenge the legitimacy of the Islamic republic system, and depict the system as unable to establish democracy, and called for foreign supervision of elections.
The indictment also accused the BBC Persian service and Voice of America of inciting the public and attempting to present a distorted image of Iran.
The BBC Persian played the most important role in inciting unrest through its attempts to give the impression that vote fraud occurred through a psychological warfare campaign, the indictment said, adding that VOA tried to tarnish the image of the president and question the legitimacy of the system by attempting to give the impression that it is undemocratic.
French teacher Clotilde Reiss and British Embassy political analyst Hossein Rassam both apologized for gathering information about the unrest.
Reiss, a 24-year-old woman who was teaching French at Isfahan University, told the court that she had collected news and information about the political situation and protests that took place after the election and reported some of her findings to officials at the French Embassy in Tehran.
“I realize this was a mistake,” she said. “I apologize to the court and the people of Iran, and I hope they will forgive me.”
Rossam took the stand after espionage charges against him were read out. He said that his job required him to gather information on the political situation in Iran and to convey his findings to his employers.
He then expressed “regret” and asked for a pardon and an opportunity to make up for any action that might have harmed the government.
The defendants also included members of a monarchist group and members of a terrorist group who were accused of planning to carry out bombings.