Iran charging Washington Post reporter with four crimes, including espionage

(Image credit: Twitter.com/Reuters)

published 20 April 2015

Iran is charging The Washington Post's Tehran bureau chief, Jason Rezaian, with espionage, "collaborating with hostile governments," and "propaganda against the establishment," his lawyer said.

Rezaian was arrested nine months ago, and his attorney, Leila Ahsan, said this is the first time the exact charges against him have been provided. The indictment says that Rezaian gathered information "about internal and foreign policy" and then gave it to "individuals with hostile intent." The Post's executive editor, Martin Baron, calls the charges "scurrilous" and called for Rezaian to be exonerated.

Ahsan met with Rezaian for 90 minutes on Monday, and it was the first time he had been able to consult with a lawyer since his arrest in July. The Revolutionary Court has not made the charges public, and Ahsan said in a statement that "all of the items and accusations are the ones that I mentioned and I cannot divulge details because the trial has not yet begun." She added that the case file has no evidence to justify the charges, and they stem from his work. "Jason is a journalist, and it is in the nature of his profession to gain access to information and publish them," she said. "My client, however, has never had any direct or indirect access to classified information to share with anyone."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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