Iran today confirmed the arrest of Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi and two unnamed U.S. citizens who work with him as photojournalists.
Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, Director General of the Tehran Province Justice Department, as saying no further information will be released about Rezaian until “technical investigations” have been completed. He was speaking on the sidelines of rallies in Tehran held to mark International Quds Day, which takes place on the last Friday of Ramadan every year to protest Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour says Iran has a “dismal record with regard to its treatment of imprisoned journalists” and says CPJ will hold Iran accountable for the safety of the four detained journalists.
Iran ranks among the world’s top three worst jailers of the press. In 2013, the CPJ reported Iran was holding at least 35 journalists in jail.
