Iranian-American journalist Rezaian convicted, Iran news agency says

Jason Rezaian, the Tehran correspondent for The Washington Post, has been convicted in an espionage trial deemed ridiculous by press freedom advocates. The journalist’s brother, Ali Rezaian, called it “disappointing” but “not surprising”.

Asked then by Poynter about the significance of the latest mini-development, Hooman Majd, an Iranian-American author, journalist and NBC News contributor, said, “Hard to say”.

The Post issues a statement for the first time. Rezaian is the only one of the four who remains in custody.

On Sunday, the family said, “Jason was simply a journalist doing his job and following all the rules when he was wrongly arrested and imprisoned in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison”.

“Our mother, Jason’s wife, and Jason’s lawyer went to court today to seek clarification on any verdict in his case…”

December 25: Mary Rezaian visits her son in jail on Christmas Day. All were later released except Rezaian. Along with espionage, Rezaian was also charged with “propaganda against the establishment”.

The White House said that the charges against Rezaian were “absurd” and called for his release.

It comes 15 months after he and his wife were detained during a raid on their home in Tehran, the capital.

“He began to identify individuals and companies that violated sanctions and were cooperating with Iran”, the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network reported, according to The New York Times.

He faces up to 20 years in prison but it is unclear what sentence has been handed down, the newspaper said.

May 19: Iran sets a court date for Rezaian’s trial.

Rezaian’s trial began on May 26, 2015, and was closed to the public. The judge who heard the case is known for handing down harsh sentences, and he potentially faces a sentence of 10 to 20 years. He said they had no prior knowledge of a verdict.

July 22: The Post petitions the United Nations’ working group on arbitrary detention in hopes of securing Rezaian’s release. “We, too, know the pain his family is experiencing, and we feel it still waiting for our own brother and son’s release”.

It was not clear who the Iranians were that Rouhani wants freed.

“We’ve seen the news reports concerning a verdict in the case of USA citizen Jason Rezaian but have not yet seen any official confirmation or details of a specific verdict from Iranian authorities”, said John Kirby, a spokesman for the department. Under the Iranian legal system, the prosecutor also has the right to appeal if there is an acquittal, an outcome that is considered unlikely.

October 12: Iranian state-run media reports that Rezaian was found guilty.

Martin Baron, executive editor of the Post, wrote in a statement that the guilty verdict “represents an outrageous injustice”.