Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter who has been in an Iranian prison for almost 500 days, has been sentenced to prison, according to media reports on Sunday.
Iranian officials said Rezaian, an Iranian-American who was living and reporting in Iran at the time of his arrest on espionage charges, was sentenced to a prison term, though it’s unclear how long or where he will serve the time, the Wall Street Journal reported. The sentence has not yet been passed on to his family or his lawyer.
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, the spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, said that the punishment is not official since it’s expected Rezaian will appeal, the Washington Post reported.
Douglas Jehl, the Washington Post’s foreign editor, said they are aware of the Iranian media reports about Rezaian’s sentencing but had no further details.
“Every day that Jason is in prison is an injustice. He has done nothing wrong,” Jehl said. “Even after keeping Jason in prison 487 days so far, Iran has produced no evidence of wrongdoing. His trial and sentence are a sham, and he should be released immediately.”
Rezaian was detained July 22, 2014, along with his wife and a photographer, both of whom were later released.
After a months-long closed trial in Iran, Rezaian was convicted late last month of charges including espionage.
His conviction sparked lawmakers on Capitol Hill to condemn his continued detention and criticize the administration for its dealings with Iran, both in securing the reporter’s release and negotiating the nuclear deal.
“At every step, there has been absolutely no transparency in Jason’s so-called trial,” Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., said in an October statement. “The only certain thing over the past 14 months of Jason’s imprisonment has been the regime’s contempt for human rights and the United States. Both in its nuclear negotiations and its consideration of Americans detained in Iran, the administration has shown a dangerous naivete regarding who it is dealing with.”
