Jason Rezaian, Washington Post Journalist Held In Iran, To Be Tried Soon

Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist, who has been held in Iran since July last year, will soon be tried in the country, Gholam Hossein Esmaeili, director general of the Tehran Province Justice Department, said according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA. Rezaian was reportedly arrested, along with his wife and friend, who were later released.

Rezaian, who holds a dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship, was kept in jail waiting for his trial and the charges against him are yet to be announced. Iran does not recognize dual citizenship.

Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, called Rezaian's imprisonment "appalling and outrageous" in a statement on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press (AP).

"We have yet to hear any accounting of any charges against Jason, who after six months in custody, has still not been provided access to a lawyer," Baron reportedly said. "A fair and just approach by Iran's judiciary could only result in his immediate release."

Rezaian will face the trial in Iran's Revolutionary Court, which mostly deals with security offenses. He "is in touch with his family and allowed meeting," Esmaeili said, according to AP, adding that he met his mother twice when she traveled to Iran.

Rezaian’s mother has repeatedly called for the journalist’s release, AP reported. The U.S. State Department has also voiced concerns over Americans who have been jailed in Iran, including Rezaian, during nuclear talks with the Iranian government. However, a solution has not been reached yet.