A source close to Iran’s judiciary confirmed to The Associated Press, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016 that jailed Washington Post bureau chief Jason Rezaian is one of four dual-national prisoners freed by Iran’s government and originally announced on Iranian state television without naming those released.
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Aside from The Post’s Rezaian the other two freed prisoners aboard the plane were understood to be Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor, and former US Marine Amir Hekmati. Reporter: They’re now at the U.S. Military base in landstuhl, Germany, where they’re getting much-needed medical attention.
The fourth prisoner released in the swap, identified by US officials as Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, decided not to leave Iran, senior White House officials said.
The Obama administration official isn’t saying whether all four Americans were on the plane, just that those “who wished to depart Iran have left”.
Rezaian and two other Iranian-Americans arrived in Germany after leaving Tehran on Sunday in a prisoner swap following the lifting of most worldwide sanctions on Iran under last year’s landmark nuclear accord.
A lawyer for Ali Saboonchi, convicted in 2014 for export violations, said his client had also been released as of Sunday.
The trial of jailed Iranian-American journalist Jason Rezaian will begin on May 26, 2015.
Rezaian grew up in Terra Linda and is a dual citizen of Iran and the U.S. Held on suspicion of being a spy, Rezaian suffered health problems, lost 40 lbs., and was growing depressed, according to his mother.
“I told Javad (Zarif), look she’s on the list and is part of the agreement”.
“With the cooperation of the Iranians we are making our very best effort to get information regarding him”.
“We couldn’t be happier to hear the news that Jason Rezaian has been released from Evin Prison”, Washington Post spokeswoman Kris Coriatti said in a statement.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials said Khosravi-Roodsari, elected not to board the plane.
U.S. Republican presidential hopefuls approached the swap with both applause and scorn for President Barack Obama’s Iran policy.
Levinson’s case was aggressively pursued, officials said, adding that Iran has committed to continue cooperating in trying to determine Levinson’s whereabouts.
Secretary of State John Kerry said US officials hashed out the prisoner exchange over 11 or 12 meetings with the Iranians.
The United States also agreed to drop charges against 14 other Iranians whose extradition to the United States seemed unlikely, a usa official said.
Anthony Bourdain, host of the CNN show “Parts Unknown”, tweeted that he hopes the news is true about the release of Rezaian, a man he interviewed – alongside Rezaian’s wife – during his tour of Iran.
The 35-year-old Iranian-American pastor from Idaho was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2013 after being accused of harming Iran’s national security by setting up home-based churches in his native country. Another said “it’s his free determination where he wants to go”.
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Americans freed from Iran are arriving in Germany to be reunited with their families. “That’s 21 terrorists helping Iran develop nuclear weapons that they intend to use to try to murder us”, Cruz said. Either way, she says it could be a matter of days before she gets to hold her husband in her arms, and let him hold his kids.
