We request the immediate and unconditional release of Jason Rezaian from Iranian custody.
Jason Rezaian is a Washington Post correspondent who has been imprisoned by the Iranian government since July 2014. On July 22, Iranian security forces raided his home in Tehran, collected notes, laptops and books and arrested Jason and his wife Yeganeh (Yegi). They were hauled to Tehran's Evin prison. Jason was held in solitary confinement without charges and interrogated daily for contact with an attorney for five months.
The problem is that Jason has not broken any Iranian or international laws. He should have never been arrested. Despite this, the Iranians have brought charges against Jason without acknowledgement of any specific wrongdoing. Jason’s health is quickly deteriorating in jail, with rapid weight loss, depression and long periods of isolation and neglect. He needs help right now. We are calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately release him from this unlawful imprisonment.
Jason’s trial began after 10 months of isolation and with only a single pre-trial meeting with his attorney. It took place over four half day sessions spanning three months. While Iranian law requires a verdict be announced within a week of the trial’s end, Jason has waited for the decision to be released since mid-August. The Iranians have subjected him to unnecessary suffering and have violated his human rights.
Jason has lived in Iran for nearly 10 years and reported for the Post since 2012. With both U.S. and Iranian citizenship, Jason wanted to walk in his ancestors’ footsteps and dispel myths each country has about each other. He has reported fairly from Iran and is well-respected by Western journalists and members of the Iranian government.
Yegi was released in October 2014, and we want a similar outcome for Jason. He has been detained longer than any other foreign journalist in Iran to date. On Friday, October 9, he will have been held as long as the American hostages taken from the US Embassy in 1979.
We are fighting to save his life, and we need your help to do so. Your support of this petition will tell the leaders of Iran that they should release him immediately. Will you please sign to help save Jason?
- His Excellency, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei
- His Excellency, President Hassan Rouhani
- His Excellency, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani