Journalists and media advocacy groups cheered Saturday in response to news that Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and three other Americans imprisoned in Iran would be released as part of a prisoner swap.
“We are thrilled to see Jason finally free, but he should have never been imprisoned in the first place. Jason was innocent," Christophe Deloire, Reporters Without Borders secretary general, said in a statement. "It is outrageous that he has been used as a bargaining chip."
The Committee to Protect Journalists also welcomed Rezaian's release, but similarly stated he "should never have been imprisoned in the first place."
"The farce of a judicial process that kept him in custody for 544 days has earned Tehran nothing but scorn from the international community," Sherif Mansour, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said in a statement. "The Iranian government should begin taking steps immediately to improve its press freedom record by releasing all journalists imprisoned in relation to their work."
Rezaian, who holds dual American and Iranian citizenship, was arrested in July 2014 under nebulous circumstances and jailed with little access to legal representation. He was convicted in October on baseless espionage and propaganda charges.
Washington Post editors worked tirelessly for Rezaian's release over the past 14 months, and journalists closely monitored his situation.
Last week, 25 top editors and media executives from outlets like The New York Times, The Associated Press and CNN urged Secretary of State John Kerry to press Iran for his release. “Journalism is not a crime,” they told Kerry in a letter.
On Saturday, journalists rejoiced at the news that Rezaian would soon be coming home.
"I think everyone in this profession is so happy for him, and his family, and his colleagues that he's free, and remain outraged that he was ever imprisoned," BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith, who signed the letter to Kerry, told The Huffington Post. "The Washington Post and [editor] Marty Baron did the right thing by making sure nobody forgot about him for a minute."
"Jason should have never been imprisoned for doing his job. It is good the Iranians finally realized that. I wish him a safe trip home. And all of us are relieved," New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet told HuffPost.
New Yorker Editor-in-Chief David Remnick said he was “delighted” to hear the news, which he called an “unbelievable relief.” “There are few things worse for an editor than having someone out in the world you can’t contact and can’t protect,” he said. Both Remnick and Baquet also signed the letter to Kerry.
CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour said on air that Rezaian's release was "something that should have happened a long time ago -- an innocent reporter being held should have been released a long time ago"
Amanpour said Rezaian's release was "absolutely 100 percent connected to implementation day," a reference to sanctions being dropped Saturday as part of a nuclear deal with Iran.
Many other journalists applauded the news -- and The Washington Post's handling of the ordeal -- on Twitter:
Read more on the exchange here:
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