Iran Revolutionary Court Holds Secret Hearing in Rezaian’s Trial

An Iranian revolutionary court convened the second secret hearing on Monday in the trial of Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent. Rezaian has been held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison for nearly a year. Rezaian, 39, is a California native who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Iran. He was arrested on charges of espionage and propaganda against the Islamic Republic. The Washington Post readers who have followed Rezaian’s reports from Tehran can testify to the bogus nature of the charge that he was engaged in anti-Iran propaganda. “Espionage” has been another convenient, all-encompassing charge against foreigners or Iranians of dual citizenship who have been detained for any number of reasons, usually political in nature.

File photo: Washington Post Correspondent Jason Rezaian (Washington Post)

Rezaian, Washington Post Journalist, Faces Spy Trial

Jason Rezaian, the Iranian-American correspondent for the Washington Post in Tehran, today was charged with espionage and collaboration with “hostile governments,” and will face a so-called trial in a revolutionary court. The Washington Post branded the decision to charge Rezaian absurd.

The 39-year old journalist has been held for 9 months in solidarity confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. The charges against Rezaian reportedly include espionage, gathering classified information, and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

Rezaian’s lawyer, Leila Ashan, said the file against her client contains “no jurifiable proof,” and that she has seen no legal reason to continue his detention.

“(Rezaian) is a journalist and the nature of his work to have access to information and to publish it,” Ashan said. “He had no access to confidential information, directly or indirectly.”  (AFP, 20 April)

“The grave charges against Rezaian that Iran has now disclosed could not be more lucicrous,” said Washington Post’s executive editor Martin Baron. “It’s absurd and despicable to asset, as Iran’s judiciary is now claiming, that Jason’s work first as freelance reporter and then as The Post’s Tehran correspondence amounted to espionage.”

File photo: Jason Rezaian (AFP)

Rezaian Charged

Iran said today that Iranian-American journalist, Jason Rezaian, has been charged after appearing in the court on Saturday. The Iranian Judiciary did not disclose the nature of the charges against him. Rezaian, the Washington Post’s bureau chief in Tehran, has been held in the notorious Evin prison for more than four months. (AP, 6 December)

Iran Extends Detention of Jason Rezaian Without Charge

Human Rights Watch reported today that Iranian-American journalist Jason Rezaian’s detention has been extended for another two months. Sarah Lee Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director of Human Rights Watch expressed concerns over the case:

“If [Iranian] authorities had evidence that Rezaian had committed a real crime, they should have charged him shortly after his arrest. At this point, they should simply release him.”

To read Human Rights Watch’s memorandum, please click here.

File photo: Washington Post’s Iranian-American journalist Jason Rezaian, held 4 months without being charges. His detention was extended for another two months. (Twitter)

Iranian Journalist, Yeganeh Salehi, Released from Prison

The Iranian journalist Yeganeh Salehi has been released from prison. She was released on bail late last week, but the announcement of her release came today. Her husband, Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent in Tehran, remains in jail. They were detained on 22 July by Iranian authorities and held without charge. Salehi is Tehran correspondent for the UAE newspaper, The National.

File photo: Yeganeh Salehi and Jason Rezaian in a photo before their detention in Tehran (Washington Post/EPA)

Rouhani: Sanctions Will Not Damage Nuclear Talks

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a press conference in Tehran today that the U.S. action adding entities to the existing sanctions will not damage the on-going talks with world powers. Rouhani, who is expected to attend the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York, said he does not plan to meet with President Obama while visiting the United States.

Rouhani ignored questions about the arrest and continued detention of Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent in Tehran, although congratulated a Chinese journalist for his command of Farsi language.

Rouhani also said that the impeachment of his minister of science by the Majlis would not change the course of his administration. He added that the next minister of science will follow the same path as his impeached predecessor.

Photo: TV screen capture of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's press conference; Tehran, 30 August 2014. (Mashreq News)

Why Is Iran Detaining Jason Rezaian?

Laura Secor on Persistence of Iran's Security State

Laura Secor, a contributor at New Yorker, today has published a piece on Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent in Tehran, who was detained by Iranian security forces on 22 July, along with two other journalists, one of them his wife, and has not been heard of since. To read the article, please click here.

File photo: Jason Rezaian (Zoeann Murphy/Getty Images/The Washington Post)

Iran Jailed My Friends – Anthony Bourdain

“These people I interviewed in Iran clearly loved the country. So why did it put them in jail?”

Anthony Bourdain, host of CNN’s “Parts Unknown” and author of “Kitchen Confidential,” tells the story of his recent reporting from Iran, where he met Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi.

To read the story, please click here.

Photo credit: Jason Rezaian, left, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, with Anthony Bourdain. Tehran, 2014. (Twitter/@thekarami)

CPJ: Iran Must Explain Journalist Arrests

State Department Calls for Immediate Release of Rezaian

New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today called on the Iranian government to explain why the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian and The National's Yeganeh Salehi, Rezaian’s wife, were arrested, and who has detained them.

It has now been six days since Rezaian and Salehi were detained. Reporters Without Border says an unnamed freelance photojournalist along with her non-journalist husband was also detained.

So far the only official confirmation of the arrests came from Qolam Hossein Esmaili, the head of the Justice Department in Tehran Province, who told the state-run news agency IRNA on Friday that the judiciary would provide information on the arrests after the completion of “technical investigations.”

In April, the very same Esmaili was removed from his previous post as head of Iran's state prisons after dozens of detainees in Evin prison, including at least seven journalists, were severely beaten during a raid. He is now promoted to the position of Tehran's prosecutor general, and has ordered the arrests of Rezaian and his colleagues.

CPJ said it holds the entire government in Iran responsible for the well being of all imprisoned journalists.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department today urged Iran to release Rezaian. Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the State Department, said Washington had asked the Swiss government, which is in charge of U.S. interest section in Iran, for assistance in resolving the issue of Rezaian’s detention.

“We call on the Iranian government to immediately release Mr. Rezaian and the other three individuals,” Psaki said Monday afternoon during a State Department news briefing. (Washington Post, 28 July)

The Washington Post’s executive editor, Martin Baron, said last week that the newspaper was “mystified” and “deeply concerned” by the arrest.

Rezaian, 38, who holds American and Iranian citizenship, has been The Post’s correspondent in Tehran since 2012. His wife, Yeganeh Salehi, 30, is a correspondent for UAE-based National newspaper.

To read today's Washington Post editorial on Rezaian and his colleagues, please click here.

File photo: A recent picture of Jason Rezaian and His wife, Yeganeh Salehi. (Washington Post)

Jason Rezaian, Washington Post Correspondent, Arrested in Tehran

Three Other Journalists Also Detained

Iranian authorities have arrested four journalists, including Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent in Tehran, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a correspondent for the UAE-based newspaper the National.

The Washington Post said today Rezaian, Salehi and two freelance photojournalists working with them were arrested Tuesday evening in Tehran. It is unclear who detained them and why.

“We are deeply troubled by this news and are concerned for the welfare of Jason, Yeganeh and two others said to have been detained with them,” said Douglas Jehl, Washington Post foreign editor. (The Washington Post, 24 July)

Rezaian, 38, has been the accredited Washington Post correspondent in Tehran since 2012. He has been based in Iran as a journalist since 2008 and was previously accredited with other publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle.  Rezaian holds dual citizenship of the United States and Iran. Salehi is an Iranian citizen and a permanent resident of the U.S. The two freelance photojournalists, whose identities have not been reported, are also U.S. citizens.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CJP) issued a statement demanding the prompt release of the detained journalists.

“We call on Iranian authorities to immediately explain why Jason Rezaian, Yeganeh Salehi, and two other journalists have been detained, and we call for their immediate release,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. (Reuters, 24 July)

There are currently 37 journalists and bloggers in prison in Iran.

“Iran has a dismal record with regard to its treatment of imprisoned journalists. We hold the Iranian government responsible for the safety of these four,” said CPJ’s Mansour.

Top Photo: The Washington Post's Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian was detained on Tuesday evening, along with his wife and two photojournalists. (Zoeann Murphy/The Washington Post)

Bottom photo: Jason Rezaian (l) and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, with Anthony Bourdain during his trip to Iran recently. (Twitter/@thekarami)