Anthony Bourdain Calls Journalist Jason Rezaian's Espionage Conviction a 'Sickening Injustice'

In a politically shocking development, the Tehran Revolutionary Court has convicted Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian on espionage charges, reports the USA Today. Rezaian and his wife Yeganeh Salehi, who is also a journalist, appeared on the Iran episode of Parts Unknown. Rezaian was arrested shortly after the episode was filmed. Host Anthony Bourdain, who has been vocal about the arrest since it happened, tweeted today that the arrest is "a sickening injustice against a man who loved Iran."

https://t.co/1Kbkq4jy77 A sickening injustice against a man who loved Iran .

— Anthony Bourdain (@Bourdain) October 12, 2015

Bourdain — who dined with Rezaian and Salehi in Tehran — wrote a guest column in the Washington Post last year that the couple was "deeply proud of their heritage and the country they were helping to show me." Bourdain chatted with CNN's Anderson Cooper last September and revealed during the interview that the arrest had left him "horrified." Bourdain added: "I just met and talked at length with a guy who was so positive about Iran. So positive about the possibilities for a better future."

The Washington Post has released a statement regarding the ruling calling it an "outrageous injustice." The statement continues: "Jason is a victim — arrested without cause, held for months in isolation, without access to a lawyer, subjected to physical mistreatment and psychological abuse, and now convicted without basis." The paper says that it is working with Rezaian's family and Iranian counsel "to pursue an immediate appeal."