Jason A. Rezaian

Jason Rezaian is an Iranian-American journalist who served as Tehran bureau chief for The Washington Post. He was convicted of espionage in a closed-door trial in Iran in 2015. The arrest and conviction have been widely described in Western media and by journalism organizations as illegitimate, with Rezaian being seen as a victim of poor Iran-U.S. relations.

On July 22, 2014, Iranian authorities raided the Tehran residence of Rezaian and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and took the couple into custody. While Salehi – also a journalist – was released on October 6, Rezaian remained in custody at Evin Prison, a detention center in Tehran known for housing political prisoners and intellectuals. After nine months, it was made public on April 20, 2015, that Iranian authorities had indicted him on four charges, including espionage and "propaganda against the establishment". His trial began on May 26, 2015. His conviction was announced on October 11, 2015. On Nov. 22, 2015, Iranian officials said he had been sentenced to a prison term, the length of which was not disclosed. On January 16, 2016, it was announced that he had been released.

Since his release, which was celebrated in the U.S. and other Western nations, Rezaian has been a diplomacy and journalism fellow at various universities, with plans to return to The Washington Post upon full recovery from his prison experience.

Rezaian is of Iranian paternal ancestry and Italian, Slovene, and German maternal ancestry. He has U.S. and Iranian citizenship.

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