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Detained Post journalist accused of spying in Iran media

Conservative Iranian media organizations have accused jailed Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian of spying, a crime punishable by death.
The headquarters of the Washington Post newspaper is seen in downtown Washington, DC, August 7, 2013. The building, estimated to be worth around 80 million USD, has been up for sale prior to the newspaper's sale to Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos earlier this week. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB        (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
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The conservative Iranian media has broken its silence on the arrest of Washington Post Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian and published articles accusing him of spying and having connections to organizations in Washington, with one group even calling for “the maximum punishment.”

Rezaian, along with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, the National’s Iran correspondent, and two other individuals, one of them a photographer, were arrested July 22. According to the judiciary, one person has been released. Rezaian is a dual national, but little else is known about the nature of the arrests. When asked at an Aug. 6 press conference, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Marzieh Afkham said that while she has no details on Rezaian's case, as per Iranian law, only his Iranian nationality is recognized in the country.

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