Jason Rezaian

Jason Rezaian
Jason Rezaian in 2016
Born	(1976-03-15) March 15, 1976 (age 40) Marin County, California, U.S.
Citizenship	United States, Iran
Education	The New School
Occupation	Journalist
Employer	The Washington Post
Spouse(s)	Yeganeh Salehi
Parent(s)	Taghi Rezaian, Mary Rezaian
Website	Washington Post Bio

Jason Rezaian (Persian: جیسون رضائیان‎‎) is an Iranian-American journalist who served as Tehran bureau chief for The Washington Post. He was convicted of espionage in a closed-door trial in Iran in 2015.

On July 22, 2014, Iranian authorities raided the Tehran residence of Rezaian and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and took the couple into custody. While Salehi – also a journalist – was released on October 6, Rezaian remained in custody at Evin Prison, a detention center in Tehran known for housing political prisoners and intellectuals. After nine months, it was made public on April 20, 2015, that Iranian authorities had indicted him on four charges, including espionage and "propaganda against the establishment". His trial began on May 26, 2015. His conviction was announced on October 11, 2015. On Nov. 22, 2015, Iranian officials said he had been sentenced to a prison term, the length of which was not disclosed. On January 16, 2016, it was announced that he had been released.

Rezaian was born March 15, 1976, and raised in Marin County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attended Wheaton Central High School in Wheaton, Illinois, in his freshman and sophomore years from 1990 to 1992. He holds both American and Iranian citizenship. His late father, Taghi, emigrated to the U.S. from Iran in 1959. His mother, Mary (Breme), originally from Chicago, moved from the U.S. to Turkey following her husband's death.

Rezaian had been based in Iran as a journalist since 2009. Before becoming the Post's Tehran correspondent in 2012, he wrote for other publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle and Monocle. His wife, Yeganeh Salehi, is an Iranian citizen who is a correspondent for The National, a newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates. After Salehi was arrested, her press credentials were revoked.