Zakka’s Appeals Court to Convene in Days

Iran's Supreme Court on Saturday will review an appeal by a Lebanese citizen with US permanent residency, Nizar Zakka, who received a 10-year jail sentence in September on espionage charges, a Lebanese Embassy source said.

"The Appeals Court's session is due to be held in four days," the unnamed source was quoted as saying by ISNA on Tuesday.

Zakka, an information technology expert, was invited to a conference in Tehran by the office of Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi in September 2015, but was detained at the airport before leaving, the source said.

The source hoped that the court would overturn the initial verdict, which also includes a $4.2 million fine.

"Otherwise, we will try to secure Zakka's transfer to serve the rest of its term in Lebanese prisons."

It has been agreed to allow Zakka's wife to visit him every other week in prison, the source added.

Zakka's supporters and his US lawyer Jason Poblete have said that he is innocent of any wrongdoing. He was charged under Article 508 of Iran's penal code. The code states that anyone found cooperating with a hostile foreign state against the Islamic Republic of Iran faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years.