Washington Post Reporter Being Held Hostage in Iran in 'Immediate Danger

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Washington Post reported Wednesday that its journalist detained in Iran is in "immediate danger" as his health deteriorates and mistreatment of him intensifies. Thursday will mark 500 days since Jason Rezaian was arrested, the newspaper noted, with executive editor Martin Baron calling it the "grimmest" of milestones.

The newspaper said Rezaian's brother, Ali, will deliver a petition Thursday to Iran's mission to the United Nations with more than 500,000 signatures asking for his immediate release.

In this photo April 11, 2013 file photo, Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American correspondent for the Washington Post, smiles as he attends a presidential campaign of President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, Iran. Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that the verdict against Rezaian has been issued. Rezaian, the Post's Tehran bureau chief, is accused of charges including espionage in a closed-door trial that has been widely criticized by the U.S. government and press freedom organizations. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

The Post also said it has submitted new information about Rezaian to a U.N. working group on arbitrary detention. Earlier this year, it appealed to the group to intervene in the case.

The 39-year-old Rezaian, who grew up in northern California, has dual American and Iranian citizenship.

Last month, Iranian state TV reported that he had been sentenced to an unspecified prison term following his conviction on charges that include espionage. The state TV has repeatedly called Rezaian an "American spy." In October, the powerful elite Revolutionary Guard claimed in a report to parliament that Rezaian is an agent seeking to overthrow Iran's Islamic ruling system.

The newspaper says Rezaian did nothing wrong. Its new filing with the U.N. working group details the lack of openness in his case and calls the legal proceedings "farcical." His lawyer, Leila Ahsan, last month told The Associated Press she had not been informed of the verdict, let alone details of the sentence.

Rezaian is suffering physically and mentally, according to the Post.

He "continues to lose weight; he suffers from blood pressure complications and other physical and mental medical conditions that remain untreated or poorly treated," the newspaper's latest U.N. filing says. "He has been subjected to further interrogations, psychological abuse, and physical mistreatment. He is deprived of normal human interactions, forced to wear a hood when he is escorted around the prison by guards or interrogators, and is closely monitored at all times."

Rezaian was detained with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and two photojournalists on July 22, 2014. All were later released except Rezaian. He went on trial in four closed-door court hearings at Tehran's Revolutionary Court, which hears cases related to national security.

U.N. human rights experts last month called for Rezaian to be released, and the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists has demanded the same. Last month, the CPJ said 30 journalists were behind bars in Iran in 2014, more than in any other country except China.