Jason Rezaian: Details of espionage charges faced by Washington Post reporter in Iran revealed after first meeting with lawyer

Reporter was detained last summer with his wife

Jason Rezaian (Twitter)

A Washington Post reporter jailed for nearly nine months in Iran faces charges of espionage and three other crimes, his lawyer has revealed following her first in-depth meeting with the journalist.

The newspaper said it had been informed by lawyer Leila Ahsan that reporter Jason Rezaian also faces charges of conducting propaganda against the establishment, collaborating with hostile governments and collecting information about internal and foreign policy.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Ms Ahsan described the journalist as being in good spirits and health, but said his continued detention alongside other inmates and a lack of access to outside media has taken a toll on his well-being.

Post Executive Editor Martin Baron said in a statement that Ms Ahsan's meeting with Mr Rezaian on Monday lasted 90 minutes and was conducted in the presence of an official translator.

“It is absurd and despicable to assert, as Iran's judiciary is now claiming, that Jason's work first as a freelance reporter and then as the Post's Tehran correspondent amounted to espionage or otherwise posed any threat to Iranian national security,” he said.

Mr Rezaian’s lawyer said his continued imprisonment without bail was unjustified. “There is no legal basis for continuing his detention,” she said.

Earlier Monday, the official IRNA news agency quoted Gholamhossein Esmaili, the director-general of the Tehran provincial justice department, saying Mr Rezaian's case had been referred to a branch of Revolutionary Court.

Mr Rezaian, 39, was arrested in July last year along with his Iranian wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who is a reporter for The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, and two other journalists whose names have not been made public. All but Mr Rezaian have since been released.

The case is being heard by Judge Abolghassem Salavati has presided over a number of politically charged cases, including those of protesters arrested in connection with demonstrations that followed the 2009 presidential elections. He is known for his tough sentencing, say reports.

A spokeswoman for the US State Department, Marie Harf said on Monday if the reports were true, the charges were “patently absurd” and should be dropped immediately.

“He should immediately be freed so he can return to his family. The charges should immediately be dismissed,” she said.

Washington has pressed Iran to release Mr Rezaian and other Americans jailed in Iran, including during talks on the sidelines of negotiations about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme