Washington Post: The Espionage Charge Against Jason Rezaian is Meaningless

The American newspaper Washington Post on Monday, April 24, called the accusation that its reporter in Tehran was engaged in espionage "absurd and meaningless" and once again demanded the release of this journalist. This reaction from the newspaper comes in response to a report published on April 23 by the Fars News Agency, which accused Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, of "selling Iran's economic and industrial information." According to AFP, Martin Baron, the executive director of the Washington Post, said in a statement regarding this accusation: "Any such accusation is absurd and meaningless and is the product of a disturbed and imaginative mind." Mr. Baron added: "All we can do is repeat our request to the Iranian government for the release of Jason Rezaian; in the meantime, we rely on his lawyer to vigorously defend him." Jason Rezaian, who holds both Iranian and American citizenship, was arrested in July 2014 in Tehran, but no formal charges have been brought against him in any court so far. However, Fars News Agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards, raised accusations related to "espionage" and national security against him on Sunday. The Fars report stated: "Jason knows that in these days, Omid Memarian, Karim Sajadpour, Alireza Eshraghi, and Rouhollah Shahsavari have become pawns of the Treasury Department and Congress, so they can sell any news about Iran's ways of circumventing sanctions cheaply to the CIA or show off their own performances." The Fars report also concluded that "selling Iran's economic and industrial information under sanctions is precisely akin to selling food to the enemy in wartime, and Iran is just an example of the journalist's espionage!" Meanwhile, the state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday, April 11, citing "an informed judicial source," that the result of Jason Rezaian's case would be announced "after the conclusion and completion of the proceedings" and that he would be "tried soon." In this context, news of Jason Rezaian's pardon was denied; "he will be tried soon." Obama called for the release of Hekmati, Abedini, Rezaian, and the finding of Levinson. Muhammad Ali Clay called for the release of Jason Rezaian. The Tehran judiciary stated: Jason Rezaian will be tried soon. The game-changing of the "proxy forces"; war against the people in the streets of Iran. The first paragraph; the responsibility of the opposition and the possibility of radicalizing Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iranian crisis. Two weeks after a complete blackout, the time for reconnecting the internet in Iran is still "uncertain." The shadow of war over Tehran; "Trump is looking for decisive military options against Iran." Trump says if the Islamic Republic attempts to assassinate him, it will be "erased from the earth." A senior U.S. official: The Trump administration is closely monitoring the case of Reza Valizadeh. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iranian crisis.