On the recordJune 15, 2015
As I have made clear before, I have serious reservations about the direction of our negotiations with Iran, and this is based in no small part on its treatment of the four Americans we are speaking about today and what that predicts going forward. Let's not forget, this is a regime--and we can turn on the set and watch their rallies--where regularly the chant ``death to America'' is used to rouse the most fervent supporters of the Supreme Leader. This is a regime that has killed its own citizens outright or convicted and imprisoned them based on confessions obtained by torture. This is a regime that takes U.S. citizens into captivity, tortures them, and then denies them medical treatment, denies them basic legal representation, denies them due process. Last month, just prior to Jason's so-called trial, Washington Post editor Martin Baron issued a compelling statement, and I will read part of it: ``It's worth recalling what kind of system we're dealing with. Jason was arrested without charges. He was imprisoned in Iran's worst prison. He was placed in isolation for many months and denied medical care he needed. His case was assigned to a judge internationally notorious for human rights violations. He could not select the lawyer of his choosing. He was given only an hour and a half to meet with a lawyer approved by the court. No evidence has ever been produced by prosecutors or the court to support these absurd charges.…
