National Press Club Statement on Update On Legal Representation For Jason Rezaian

News provided by

Mar 02, 2015, 07:35 ET

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 2^nd 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 13^th 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

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080917/NPCLOGO

SOURCE National Press Club