The National’s foreign correspondent in Iran freed on bail

Yeganeh Salehi was released after being held for more than two months. Her husband, the Washington Post Correspondent, Jason Rezaian, remains in prison.

Yeganeh Salehi, who had been detained in Tehran, has been released on bail. Courtesy Ali Rezaian

ABU DHABI // The National's correspondent in Iran has been released from a Tehran prison after being held for more than two months.

Yeganeh Salehi was detained along with her husband, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, on July 22. Mr Rezaian remains in prison. The reasons for their arrest are still unknown and it is unclear what charges they face.

Ms Salehi, 30, was freed on bail late last week, Ali Rezaian, Jason's brother, told The National. He said she had been allowed to meet Jason recently.

“They are both physically healthy,” Ali said on Monday.

Ms Salehi, an Iranian national, started working as a correspondent for The National in January after gaining permission from the government.

Jason, 38, who holds both United States and Iranian citizenship, has been based in Iran since 2008.

A photojournalist and her husband were also arrested on July 22, also on unknown charges, but were later released.

The National’s editor-in-chief, Mohammed Al Otaiba, on Monday welcomed Ms Salehi’s release.

“We are pleased to hear that Yeganeh is no longer in prison and is in good health,” he said. “We still don’t know why she was arrested and held for two and a half months with no explanation. I hope she can return quickly to doing what she does best - writing fascinating reports about her country.

“We hope her husband, Jason Rezaian, is released soon.”

Iranian officials have provided little information about the arrests.

Last month, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani would not specify the charges against the couple and said their cases have yet to be heard by a judge.

“We must not prematurely express opinions about a case file that hasn’t reached the court yet,” Mr Rouhani said in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly.

Earlier, the Iranian foreign minister Mohammed Jawad Zarif told US public radio that Iran’s judiciary has “no obligation” to disclose the charges, but that Mr Rezaian is “facing interrogation in Iran for what he has done as an Iranian citizen”.

It was also unclear under what terms Ms Salehi had been granted bail.

She is staying with her family in Tehran and is no longer allowed to work as a journalist there, Ali said.

“We are thankful Yeganeh has been released on bail,” her family said. “We remain confident that Jason has committed no crime. We pray that the Iranian government will conclude that Jason should be released as well.”

In a letter to the Washington Post last month, Ms Salehi’s mother Fatemeh Talaei said she and her husband had gone to the court and prison every day to try to find information about the couple.

“What have two reporters, whose passion has always been fair reporting and who have always abided by the law, done to warrant a two-month investigation?” she wrote.

Jason’s mother, Mary Breme Rezaian, also appealed for their release saying Jason’s work had helped promote understanding between the US and Iran. She had previously raised concerns about her son’s health, saying he had to take daily medication for high blood pressure.

The United States, which has no diplomatic ties with Iran, has called for the journalists to be freed.

Ms Salehi’s reports for The National covered a range of subjects from the impact of economic sanctions to social trends among Iranian women.

She was also one of the few journalists to travel with Mr Rouhani to Iran's eastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province, where she reported on government plans to develop the region.

Ali Rezaian said that neither Ms Salehi or her family in Tehran will be speaking further to the press and he asked for their privacy to be respected.