Iran says Jason Rezaian sentenced to prison, gives no detail

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 22 November 2015

Jason Rezaian, a correspondent for the Washington Post, has been sentenced to an undisclosed prison term in Iran. The Committee to Protect Journalists demands his release amid continued repression of journalists in the country.

Summary

NEW YORK: The Committee to Protect Journalists Sunday called on Iranian authorities to release Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who has been sentenced to an unspecified prison term, according to state media reports that provided no additional details. Last month, state media reported that Rezaian, a US citizen who faces espionage and other charges, had been convicted, but did not say on which charges or whether he had been sentenced. "By withholding information about the verdict and sentence, the Iranian government shows that its pursuit of Jason Rezaian on bogus espionage charges is nothing but a facade to prolong his unjust imprisonment," said Sherif Mansour, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "The authorities should immediately drop all charges against Jason Rezaian and release him, along with all journalists imprisoned in Iran in relation to their work." With 30 journalists behind bars,Iran was the second worst jailer of journalists in the world in 2014, after only China, according to CPJ's most recent prison census. Iran has ranked among the world's three worst jailers of the press every year since 2009, according to CPJ research. In a statement Sunday the Post called Rezaian's trial and sentence "a sham." - CPJ

KEY POINTS:

• Jason Rezaian sentenced to prison in Iran.
• Details of his conviction and charges remain undisclosed.
• Committee to Protect Journalists calls for his immediate release.
• Iran is one of the worst jailers of journalists globally.
• The Washington Post condemns the trial as a sham.