WASHINGTON, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Recently the National Press Club received the following
statement from the family of Jason
Rezaian, The Washington Post Tehran Bureau Chief currently
being held in prison in Iran.
STATEMENT FROM FAMILY OF JASON REZAIAN, WASHINGTON POST REPORTER
Update on legal representation for Jason
Rezaian and Yeganeh
Salehi
March 1, 2015
We can report that the Iranian government, having illegally
detained Jason Rezaian for 222 days,
has finally permitted Jason to hire a lawyer to present a defense
against the still-undisclosed charges that have already robbed
Jason of more than seven months of his life.
For nearly a month our family's chosen attorney Masoud Shafii
has worked tirelessly under pressure from the judiciary to be
assigned as Jason's attorney. It is clear that despite the best
efforts Mr. Shafii will not be permitted to represent Jason.
Last week Judge Salavati set a deadline of March 2nd for Jason to present an
"acceptable" attorney to his court. Leila
Ahsan, who represents Jason's wife Yeganeh, will now be
Jason's lead attorney. We are hopeful that her knowledge of the
case and access to the files will ensure that there are no further
unwarranted delays in the process.
Iranian law permits each defendant to have up to three
attorneys, and as such we will continue to augment the defense team
that we hope will include Mr. Shafii so Jason can finally have full
access to his rights under law.
(Signed By) Ali Rezaian, Brother of Jason and Mary Rezaian, Mother of Jason
At the National Press Club we are disappointed that the
government of Iran seems to be
telling Jason who he should choose as a legal representative, but
we are hopeful that allowing Jason a legal representative is
a step in the right direction and will lead to the Iranian
government releasing Jason. We note there was a very good and full
article on the above legal situation in the March 2 edition of the Washington
Post.
On March 12, the National Press
Club will host a news conference about Jason's case with
Ali Rezaian and Washington Post
Foreign Editor Douglas Jehl, along
with John Hughes, President of the
National Press Club. The news conference will take place at 2p on
the 13th floor of the National Press Building (Holeman
Lounge). If you would like to arrange an interview with
Ali Rezaian either before or after
the news conference please contact Bill
McCarren at 202-662-7534.
Contact: Bill McCarren,
202-662-7534 for the National Press Club
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SOURCE National Press Club