Washington Post reporter starts second year in Iran jail

Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent on trial for spying on Iran, began a second year behind bars on Wednesday with his family increasingly concerned about his health. Rezaian, 39, faces charges including "espionage, collaboration with hostile governments, gathering classified information and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic republic", according to his lawyer. After three trial sessions since late May, the "slow-motion judicial process" may soon come to an end, the Post's executive editor Martin Baron said in a statement released on Monday. His lawyer Leila Ahsan has been told by the Iranian authorities "that the next hearing will 'almost certainly' be the last, though no date has yet been set," he added. "There can be no reason for further delay," Baron said. "Any fair outcome would clear Jason of these manufactured charges so that he can be released and reunited with his family." Rezaian was arrested with his wife Yeganeh Salehi, also a journalist, at their home on July 22, 2014. Salehi and a photographer who was arrested on the same day were released on bail after two and a half months in custody. Jason's American mother Mary has expressed hope her son will also be freed on bail. "He is not a murderer. He is not a spy. This type of detention is hurting him. It's hurting his family. We want him on bail, released, with his family," she told reporters outside the court after the latest trial session on July 13. Rezaian's relatives have frequently expressed fears for his health, citing his need for medication to combat high blood pressure. His lawyer and media have been barred from revealing any details about the case. Rezaian's detention is politically sensitive because of his dual nationality, which Iran does not recognise. The United States, one of six world powers which recently struck a nuclear agreement with Iran, has repeatedly called for his release. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the negotiations with Iran to curb its disputed nuclear programme, told MSNBC he had raised the issue with the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif every time they met. Source: AFP