An online petition at Change.org calling for the release of Jason Rezaian, the Tehran bureau chief of The Washington Post, has collected 100,000 signatures, the Post reported Thursday. Rezaian has been detained by Iranian authorities for months without the charges against him being made public.
A burgeoning online petition drive has collected signatures from people in more than 70 countries asking Iran to immediately set Rezaian free. The petition on Change.org has collected more than 100,000 signatures, a dramatic rise from less than 10,000 just a few weeks ago.
Ali Rezaian [Jason’s brother] said he quietly posted the petition around the Thanksgiving holidays. But in mid-January, Change.org began aggressively pushing it through e-mail and its social-media accounts on Twitter and Facebook, said the Web site’s spokeswoman, Shareeza Bhola.
“Online petitions show that a situation is not isolated,” Bhola said. “It amplifies voices calling for justice. It’s not just a few people calling for Jason’s freedom — it’s 100,000.”
The Post also reported that Iranian authorities have allowed Rezaian medical treatment for an infection. But Ali said that “as a result of the delayed treatment, it’s harder for him to recover.”
Also according to the Post, American officials have pressed for Rezaian’s release from their Iranian counterparts during negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, but it is unknown if they will be able to continue to do so if a political framework agreement is concluded by a March deadline. The judge to whom Rezaian’s case was assigned is “known for imposing long and severe sentences.”
Rezaian was arrested along with his wife last July. Though she was later released, he has been held since then without the charges against him being made public. In September, top Iranian leaders appeared to justify Rezaian’s arrest, with lead nuclear negotiator and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif saying that the charges against the journalist were “serious.” Last month, Iranian judicial authorities said that Rezaian would be tried soon.
An editorial late last year published in The Washington Post asked, “If Iranian officials are unresponsive in the case of Mr. Rezaian, how can they be expected to deliver on commitments they make with respect to the nuclear program?”
[Photo: Vertioless Batenyahu / YouTube ]