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Family of Post Reporter Calls on Iran to Free Him Family of Washington Post Reporter Calls on Iran to Free Him
(about 1 hour later)
The family of The Washington Post’s Iran correspondent, who has been jailed without explanation or charges since July, called on Thursday for the Iranian authorities to release him and said his incarceration was a farce.The family of The Washington Post’s Iran correspondent, who has been jailed without explanation or charges since July, called on Thursday for the Iranian authorities to release him and said his incarceration was a farce.
In a statement posted online, the mother and brother of Jason Rezaian, 38, a dual Iranian-American citizen from California, said it was clear officials had failed to find anything incriminating.In a statement posted online, the mother and brother of Jason Rezaian, 38, a dual Iranian-American citizen from California, said it was clear officials had failed to find anything incriminating.
Otherwise, they wrote, he would have been charged by now.Otherwise, they wrote, he would have been charged by now.
The statement came on Mr. Rezaian’s 100th day of confinement in Iran. He has not been allowed to make or receive phone calls from Tehran’s Evin Prison, and cannot hire a lawyer because he has not been formally accused. The statement came on Mr. Rezaian’s 100th day of confinement in Iran. He has not been allowed to make or receive phone calls from Tehran’s Evin Prison, and he cannot hire a lawyer because he has not been formally accused.
“Unlike previous high-profile cases, the Iranian government has never even pretended that they had proof to suspect Jason of wrongdoing to justify the detention,” his mother, Mary Breme Rezaian, and brother, Ali, said in the statement. “They have spent 100 days interrogating him in an attempt to find something, anything, that they could use to justify his unwarranted detention.”“Unlike previous high-profile cases, the Iranian government has never even pretended that they had proof to suspect Jason of wrongdoing to justify the detention,” his mother, Mary Breme Rezaian, and brother, Ali, said in the statement. “They have spent 100 days interrogating him in an attempt to find something, anything, that they could use to justify his unwarranted detention.”
They added that releasing him “would demonstrate to the world much more strength on the part of the Iranian leadership than allowing this farce to continue.”They added that releasing him “would demonstrate to the world much more strength on the part of the Iranian leadership than allowing this farce to continue.”
The State Department and The Post have repeatedly called on Iran to release Mr. Rezaian. Douglas Jehl, The Post’s foreign editor, said in a statement on Thursday that Mr. Rezaian’s incarceration was “inexplicable and utterly unacceptable.” The State Department and The Post have repeatedly called on Iran to release Mr. Rezaian. Douglas Jehl, The Post’s foreign editor, said in a statement that Mr. Rezaian’s incarceration was “inexplicable and utterly unacceptable.”
Mr. Rezaian holds an American passport, but the Iranian authorities do not recognize his American citizenship and consider him an Iranian citizen. Thus, they say, they have no obligation to grant foreign diplomatic access to him.Mr. Rezaian holds an American passport, but the Iranian authorities do not recognize his American citizenship and consider him an Iranian citizen. Thus, they say, they have no obligation to grant foreign diplomatic access to him.
Human rights advocates outside the country say the case of Mr. Rezaian, who has reported for The Post from Iran since 2012, has undercut President Hassan Rouhani’s vow to create a less restrictive atmosphere and is another irritant in the estranged American-Iranian relationship.Human rights advocates outside the country say the case of Mr. Rezaian, who has reported for The Post from Iran since 2012, has undercut President Hassan Rouhani’s vow to create a less restrictive atmosphere and is another irritant in the estranged American-Iranian relationship.
It has also exposed fissures within the Iranian leadership, where the security and judiciary branches are dominated by conservatives wary of Mr. Rouhani.It has also exposed fissures within the Iranian leadership, where the security and judiciary branches are dominated by conservatives wary of Mr. Rouhani.
Mr. Rouhani’s American-educated foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who knows Mr. Rezaian and has called him a fair reporter, told NPR last month that the matter was out of his hands.Mr. Rouhani’s American-educated foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who knows Mr. Rezaian and has called him a fair reporter, told NPR last month that the matter was out of his hands.
Other Iranian officials have hinted that he is suspected of espionage, but they have not elaborated.Other Iranian officials have hinted that he is suspected of espionage, but they have not elaborated.
Mohammad Javad Larijani, head of Iran’s human rights commission, told CNN Wednesday that officials were looking into activities thought to have gone “beyond the sphere of journalism.” Mohammad Javad Larijani, head of Iran’s human rights commission, told CNN on Wednesday that officials were looking into activities thought to have gone “beyond the sphere of journalism.”
Mr. Rezaian was seized along with his Iranian wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who also is a journalist, and two Iranian-American photojournalists. Within a month, the photojournalists were released. Mr. Rezaian was seized along with his Iranian wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who is also a journalist, and two Iranian-American photojournalists. Within a month, the photojournalists were released.
In a possibly hopeful sign for Mr. Rezaian, Ms. Salehi, 30, was reportedly freed on bail early this month. Though she has not been charged, Ms. Salehi, who works for The National, a United Arab Emirates newspaper, has been prohibited from resuming work.In a possibly hopeful sign for Mr. Rezaian, Ms. Salehi, 30, was reportedly freed on bail early this month. Though she has not been charged, Ms. Salehi, who works for The National, a United Arab Emirates newspaper, has been prohibited from resuming work.
She has been allowed to see Mr. Rezaian, his brother said in a phone interview on Thursday, and both are physically healthy.She has been allowed to see Mr. Rezaian, his brother said in a phone interview on Thursday, and both are physically healthy.
Still, he said, Mr. Rezaian has been barred from any other communication, and the ordeal has “gone on much longer than we could possibly have imagined.”Still, he said, Mr. Rezaian has been barred from any other communication, and the ordeal has “gone on much longer than we could possibly have imagined.”