TEHRAN, Iran — A Washington Post reporter detained in Iran for months has been indicted and may stand trial, state media reported on Wednesday, although it is not known what charges he faces. "We still do not know what charges the Iranian authorities have brought against our correspondent Jason Rezaian, but we hope the referral of his case to a Revolutionary Court represents a step forward toward Jason’s prompt release," according to a statement from Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post. Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi and two photojournalists were detained on July 22. All but Rezaian were later released.
The journalist's case will be heard by the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which deals with cases of national security. This could indicate that Rezaian — a dual U.S.-Iranian national and the newspaper's bureau chief in Tehran since 2012 — may be charged with espionage and could face a lengthy prison sentence, although the court also has the power to expedite the case and release him quickly.
Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif, who met Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva on Wednesday for talks on Iran's contested nuclear program, said he hoped the case could be "resolved."
"We will have to wait for the judiciary to move forward, but we will try to provide all the humanitarian assistance that we could," he told journalists on Wednesday. "We hope that this issue could be resolved but unfortunately there are judicial issues involved which the judiciary has to deal with."
At a news conference in Bulgaria Thursday, Kerry said he had already raised Rezaian’s case with Zarif. The United States “will never rest with any Americans held anywhere,” Kerry said. “We are working this and, I guarantee you, working it hard.”
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