Iran charges US journalist detained since July

The family of a Washington Post correspondent detained
in Iran since July is calling on Iran’s Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei “to show the international community that
Iran is indeed a country that respects its laws.”
Jason Rezaian, who holds dual American and Iranian
citizenship, has been officially charged with unspecified
crimes, the newspaper reported.
His family released a statement on Sunday saying that “in
its ongoing disregard of Iran’s own laws, the Iranian
judiciary has continued to deny Jason access to legal
representation, denied his request for bail, and prevented
access to review of his case file.”
Rezaian has been the paper’s bureau chief in Tehran since
2012.
He attended a 10-hour court session in Tehran on
Saturday, during which a judge revisited his case and
Rezaian signed paperwork to acknowledge he understood
he was being charged, the Post said.
“We’re appalled by the injustice of it all,” Washington
Post Executive Editor Marty Baron said in an email
message on Sunday morning.
“It’s disgraceful treatment of a good and decent man.
There is no justification for his continued imprisonment, just
as there was no justification for his arrest in the first
place,” Baron wrote.
“The Iranian government has never explained why Jason
was detained or why he has been held for more than four
months without access to a lawyer,” Baron said earlier.
“Jason is an American citizen who was acting as a fully
accredited journalist. … Any fair legal proceeding would
quickly determine that any allegations against him are
baseless.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Iran to
free Rezaian.
“We call on (the) Iranian government to drop any charges
against Jason Rezaian and release him so he can be
reunited with his family,” the State Department tweeted
on Kerry’s behalf.
Rezaian’s wife, Yeganeh Salehi, was arrested with him,
but she was released on bail in October, according to the
Post.
His family is asking for his “immediate and unconditional
release.”