Washington Post: 'Iran's conduct gives us no hope'

On July 22, 2014 Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was arrested in Tehran. He is currently on trial in Iran, charged with espionage and other offenses.

Rezaian has been waiting behind bars for the revolutionary court to announce its verdict on his case.

Martin Baron, the Post's chief editor announced today during a ceremony marking one-year since Rezaian's arrest that the paper has filed a petition with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention seeking the immediate release of Rezaian, its Tehran correspondent. The Washington Post announced the action on its website explaining that the petition filed before the U.N. Human Rights Council sought to increase the international pressure on the Iranian government over its treatment of Rezaian. His 365 days in prison as of Wednesday amount to the longest imprisonment by far of any Western journalist held by the Islamic republic. On this occasion Deutsche Welle interviewed the Post's foreign editor, Douglas Jehl.

DW: Mr. Jehl, the Washington Post has filed a petition to the UN on Jason's case today. What do you hope to reach with this petition?

Douglas Jehl: What happened today is that The Washington Post on Jason's behalf has filed a petition to United Nations working group to request urgent action in seeking Jason's release on humanitarian grounds and the grounds that his detainment has been arbitrary and without foundation. This is a course that the Post Company and our lawyers elected to take as it became clear that the judicial process in Iran was not proceeding in the fair, just and transparent manner in which we'd hoped. We hoped that Iran would keep to its commitment to provide fairness and justice on this case. Every aspect of Iran's conduct has given us no hope for that so that's why today the post has filed this petition with the United Nations to seek to bring their voice into this process.

Are you in touch with anyone who can give you first hand information about how Jason Rezaian is doing?

We have very limited communication with Jason. Neither I nor his brother here has been able to speak to him directly for a full year since he was detained. He is permitted occasional visits from his wife, Yegi and from his mother, Mary. His mother met with him just yesterday. She reported that the psychological and physical toll continue to be significant. So we really are concerned about his condition and believe even more than before that he is ought to be released on humanitarian grounds as well as because he is absolutely innocent of his charges.

The next trial is most probably Jason's last trial. What does his lawyer, Leila Ahsan say? Does she expect anything in the circumstances under which the trial will be held to change?

The lawyer is limited in what she can say publicly under the rules of the revolutionary court where this matter is being held. She did say publicly two days ago that she had been told by the judge that the next hearing, that the fourth hearing of the case, almost certainly would be the last. And I know that she is hopeful as are we that the more it proceeds to its finish that she and Jason will be allowed to present the defense that they have so far been unable to do.

Up till now every trial happened behind closed doors. Do you think this might be different for the next trial?

We hope that it would. We believe that this proceeding should be played out in open court. Jason's wife and mother should be allowed to attend. The Washington Post should be allowed to send a representative. That said, I'm not hopeful. The Iranian government has been, the Iranian judge has been rigid so far in maintaining that this proceeding would be closed and we have seen no indications that that will change.

Why do you think they are holding closed trials?

In general this is a court, the revolutionary court, that handles security matters and often its procedures are secret. That said I can only conclude that Iran's unwillingness to present the charges publicly, to allow observers to attend the trial, to add any kind of transparency to this process reflects the fact that Iran does not have a case. There is absolutely no evidence that Jason, an accredited journalist committed wrong-doing of any kind.

What about the Iran deal, do you think that would have any kind of influence on Jason's case now?

We hope that now that the negotiations are concluded that any obstacle that might have stood on the way of Jason's release will now be eased. As you know the discussions over Jason and the discussions over the nuclear talks were preceded separately. That's appropriate. Jason is innocent and should be freed on his own accord. We are hopeful. We have been hopeful at many junctures in the last year. We were hopeful that the United Nations' general assembly will lead to the release, hopeful that the beginning of the nuclear talks, that the recess of the nuclear talks, any of these moments might be the trigger that would allow sanity to set in but so far we have been badly disappointed at each turn.