This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/world/middleeast/washington-post-files-un-petition-to-seek-release-of-reporterjason-rezaian.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Washington Post Files U.N. Petition to Seek Release of Reporter Jason Rezaian Washington Post Files U.N. Petition to Seek Release of Reporter Jason Rezaian
(about 1 hour later)
The Washington Post sought to raise pressure on Iran’s government on Wednesday over its year-old incarceration of Jason Rezaian, the newspaper’s Tehran correspondent, filing an urgent petition with a United Nations human-rights panel to seek his immediate release.The Washington Post sought to raise pressure on Iran’s government on Wednesday over its year-old incarceration of Jason Rezaian, the newspaper’s Tehran correspondent, filing an urgent petition with a United Nations human-rights panel to seek his immediate release.
In a statement issued on the anniversary of Mr. Rezaian’s arrest, The Post said its petition, submitted to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, accused the Iranian authorities of “numerous violations of international law” in their imprisonment and treatment of him.In a statement issued on the anniversary of Mr. Rezaian’s arrest, The Post said its petition, submitted to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, accused the Iranian authorities of “numerous violations of international law” in their imprisonment and treatment of him.
The statement was issued as Mr. Rezaian appeared to be in the final phase of a secretive trial in a Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges including espionage, which could carry a prison sentence of 20 years. He has denied the charges, and his Iranian lawyer has said there is no evidence to support them. “There is no reason that Jason should be detained for another day,” Ali Rezaian, Mr. Rezaian’s brother, said at the National Press Club in Washington, where he and Washington Post officials held a news conference streamed on the Internet to publicize the petition.
Mr. Rezaian appears to be in the final phase of a secretive trial in a Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges including espionage, which could carry a prison sentence of 20 years. He has denied the charges, and his Iranian lawyer has said there is no evidence to support them.
The Post, the United States government, Mr. Rezaian’s family, a range of press-advocacy groups and other supporters have called the accusations baseless.The Post, the United States government, Mr. Rezaian’s family, a range of press-advocacy groups and other supporters have called the accusations baseless.
“For the past year, Jason has endured extensive physical mistreatment and psychological abuse, and we are deeply concerned for his welfare,” The Post’s publisher, Frederick J. Ryan Jr., said in the statement. “Jason is being deprived of his basic human rights, and we are asking the U.N. Working Group to render an opinion to Iran and the international community that Jason’s detention is unlawful and that he should be released immediately.” “For the past year, Jason has endured extensive physical mistreatment and psychological abuse, and we are deeply concerned for his welfare,” The Post’s publisher, Frederick J. Ryan Jr., said. “Jason is being deprived of his basic human rights, and we are asking the U.N. Working Group to render an opinion to Iran and the international community that Jason’s detention is unlawful and that he should be released immediately.”
The statement said The Post’s petition asserted that Mr. Rezaian’s detention was “arbitrary and unlawful under both Iranian and international law,” and included a formal request for “urgent action” by the Working Group, which reports to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Post’s petition asserted that Mr. Rezaian’s detention was “arbitrary and unlawful under both Iranian and international law,” and included a formal request for “urgent action” by the Working Group, which reports to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
There was no immediate comment from the Iranian government on the petition, a step that reflected increased exasperation by the newspaper with what critics call Iran’s opaque and arbitrary judicial process.There was no immediate comment from the Iranian government on the petition, a step that reflected increased exasperation by the newspaper with what critics call Iran’s opaque and arbitrary judicial process.
“Every aspect of this case — his incarceration, his trial, the conditions of his imprisonment — has been a disgraceful violation of human rights,” Martin Baron, The Post’s executive editor, said in the statement. “And it violates common decency.” “Every aspect of this case — his incarceration, his trial, the conditions of his imprisonment — has been a disgraceful violation of human rights,” said Martin Baron, The Post’s executive editor. “And it violates common decency.”
While the petition carries no threat of enforcement or other penalty, it is still a public relations embarrassment for Iran’s government, which is seeking to end years of global ostracism and economic isolation.While the petition carries no threat of enforcement or other penalty, it is still a public relations embarrassment for Iran’s government, which is seeking to end years of global ostracism and economic isolation.
The petition was announced just a week after Iranian diplomats negotiated a landmark nuclear deal with world powers, including the United States, that would relax the onerous economic sanctions on Iran.The petition was announced just a week after Iranian diplomats negotiated a landmark nuclear deal with world powers, including the United States, that would relax the onerous economic sanctions on Iran.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is a panel of five independent experts in human rights and international law who have a mandate to assess whether individuals are held by states unlawfully.The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is a panel of five independent experts in human rights and international law who have a mandate to assess whether individuals are held by states unlawfully.
Mr. Rezaian, 39, a California native, is the longest-held Western journalist in Iran. The son of an Iranian expatriate father and an American mother, he has reported on Iran for years and has been The Post’s Tehran bureau chief since 2012.Mr. Rezaian, 39, a California native, is the longest-held Western journalist in Iran. The son of an Iranian expatriate father and an American mother, he has reported on Iran for years and has been The Post’s Tehran bureau chief since 2012.
President Obama and both houses of Congress have called on Iran to release Mr. Rezaian and two other Americans, as well as to provide information on a fourth missing there since 2007.President Obama and both houses of Congress have called on Iran to release Mr. Rezaian and two other Americans, as well as to provide information on a fourth missing there since 2007.
The issue of the detained and missing Americans has taken on increased importance after the nuclear agreement, which Congress will now review for the next two months. Some lawmakers, already deeply skeptical of Iran’s pledges in that accord, have said they would regard the release of Mr. Rezaian and the others as a sign of Iran’s sincerity. The issue of the detained and missing Americans has taken on increased importance after the nuclear agreement, which Congress will now review for the next two months. Many lawmakers are already deeply skeptical of Iran’s pledges in that accord, and some have said they would regard the release of Mr. Rezaian and the others as a sign of Iran’s sincerity.
Washington Post officials said the timing of the petition was coincidental to anniversary of Mr. Rezaian’s arrest.
“We have been doing everything we could think to do in pursuit of Jason’s release,” said Jay Kennedy, the newspaper’s vice president and general counsel. “First, we hoped that the fact that he did nothing wrong would lead to his release. Then, our hope was that continuing discussions between the U.S. government and Iranian officials alongside the nuclear talks would produce positive results. So far, they haven’t.
“And so now, we believe, the time has come to bring a very public, adversarial case against Iran, as The Post and the family and many others continue to pursue Jason’s release through other channels.”