It’s been one month since The Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian was released from prison in Iran. Jason spent 544 days behind bars – longer than any other Western journalist since the Revolution – based on bogus “espionage” charges.
Many people and organizations advocated for Jason’s release, including Press Uncuffed, a campaign to help free imprisoned journalists throughout the world by selling bracelets bearing their names. RoseComm helped create the campaign with students from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland and their professor, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dana Priest. All proceeds benefit the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Among the supporters who wear Press Uncuffed bracelets are Rezaian’s mother, Mary Rezaian, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who initially was arrested with Rezaian and released on bail after three months. We’ve been in touch with Mary since Jason’s release and she recently shared what the campaign has meant to her family.
As a form of psychological torture, journalists who are wrongfully held by their governments are typically told that no one is fighting for their release. It’s important to show the nearly 200 journalists still in prison – and their families – that we’re not giving up on them or the broader issue of press freedom.
Have you purchased your Press Uncuffed bracelet yet?