UN Special Rapporteurs Call for 'Immediate Release' of Jason Rezaian

United Nations special rapporteurs have called for the immediate release of Jason Rezaian, the imprisoned journalist for the Washington Post in Iran. According to the Washington Post, in a joint statement issued on Friday, August 23, by David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, and Seong Phil Hong, the Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, it was stated that 'the detention and holding of a closed trial' of Mr. Rezaian constitutes a violation of his rights. The statement also strongly criticized the conditions of Jason Rezaian's imprisonment, emphasizing that 'solitary confinement and interrogation sessions lasting all day have caused significant physical and psychological pressure' on this journalist. Martin Baron, the executive editor of the Washington Post, welcomed the UN officials' statement, saying that it was issued 'at an appropriate time' and reinforces the newspaper's position that the Islamic Republic's treatment of Jason Rezaian's case is 'illegal.' Mr. Baron stressed that the trial of the imprisoned Washington Post journalist in Iran is 'fabricated.' The UN officials' statement regarding Jason Rezaian comes just before the issuance of his verdict by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. Mr. Rezaian's mother and wife attended the last session of his trial, the fourth and final session, held on the morning of Monday, August 19, in Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati and conducted in private. The lawyer for this Iranian-American journalist stated that in this session, 'final defenses' were taken from Mr. Rezaian. Mr. Rezaian was arrested on July 22, 2014, along with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and another person whose name was never mentioned. Yeganeh Salehi, Mr. Rezaian's wife, who worked for an English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi, was released on bail after two and a half months. Jason Rezaian faces charges such as 'espionage for a hostile government and propaganda against the regime.' The Washington Post has described Mr. Rezaian's charges as baseless.