Have you sent an email yet?

[sonrisa]

Please write to Senator, Barbara Boxer. Please ask that she take action in her role as Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues to help free Jason Rezaian his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and others jailed with them. Jason is a Washington Post correspondent and dual citizen of Iran and the US who was jailed by Iran two weeks ago. He grew up in Marin county and was one of her constituents throughout her time representing the 6th district in the House.

You can write to Senator Boxer at her bay area office:
Office of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
70 Washington Street, Suite 203
Oakland, CA 94607
[phone]

or contact her directly through her website: (Topic: Foreign Policy. I included his name in the subject line).
www.boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/policycomments.cfm

Jason was a childhood classmate and is a good guy. He deserves our help. Let's put the power of ML to good use. 

For more information on Jason's situation you can read:

1) Yesterday's New York Times article:

www.nytimes.com/2014/08/05/opinion/haleh-esfandiari-jason-rezaians-arrest-in-iran-is-a-ploy-to-weaken-rouhani.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

2) This blog post from The Economist:

www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2014/08/media-iran

-----------

People have asked for sample language to start their emails. Here are some of my thoughts:

Topic: Foreign Policy
Subject: "Help Free Jason Rezaian"

"Dear Senator Boxer,

I am writing as a concerned citizen / constituent [depending on whether you live in California]. Please use your influence as Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues to help free Jason Rezaian his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and others jailed with them. Jason is a Washington Post correspondent and dual citizen of Iran and the US who was jailed by Iran two weeks ago."

Then add something that resonates with you or feels worth mentioning. It could be some of the following issues:

1) the importance of a free press

2) Iran should bring charges or let them go

3) how his reporting on Iran in US media was never extremist or controversial

4) why she should take extra interest in a US citizen who grew up in her district and under her governance

5) his mother has made a plea asking he can see a doctor and have access to medication because of existing health issues

[sonrisa]

Hell, even if you aren't in California. That subcommittee is on behalf of all Americans. The Canadians get a free pass on this one. However, if you are an American click on the link and write her an email.

[Deleted]

Maybe it would help if there is a stock message you want people to send? I know a personal one means more, and will do that, but you might get more follow through with a three sentence one that could be copied and pasted.

Also, I was not sure what topic to select. I went with human rights. But if they get sorted I would hate for the requests to go into different pots.

[karmasabiotch]

I sent a letter through the website. The prewritten letters don't grab as much attention.

[underwaterrhymes]

I will send something later today. Thanks for alerting us.

[sonrisa]

Thank you to everyone who has written (or plans to do so).

Good point, elle.

I have been haunting the amnesty website hoping to see them launch a campaign on his behalf that I could alert everyone here about. During a middle of the night nursing session it occurred to me that was stupid. If I wanted a letter writing campaign then I should just start one. Boxer seemed like the perfect target because of their shared connections to Marin county and her current role as chair of the Foreign Relations subcommittee involving human rights.

Let me get a template together for email content. Foreign policy or civil rights would be appropriate categories. I put his name right into the subject line.

[snipsnsnails]

Oh, son, I'm glad you posted. I hope it continues to gain the attention it deserves and he and his wife are freed immediately.

I'll write this evening. Keep me posted. (((Hugs)))

[Deleted]

Aug 5, 2014 13:47:20 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

Thank you to everyone who has written (or plans to do so).

Good point, elle.

I have been haunting the amnesty website hoping to see a them launch a campaign on his behalf that I could alert everyone here about. During a middle of the night nursing session it occurred to me that was stupid. If I wanted a letter writing campaign then I should just start one. Boxer seemed like the perfect target because of their shared connections to Marin county and her current role as chair of the Foreign Relations subcommittee involving human rights.

Let me get a template together for email content. Foreign policy or civil rights would be appropriate categories. I put his name right into the subject line.

I would also suggest starting something through Change.Org.  I've seen some phenomenol results using this tool to get the word out and decisions reversed. I believe when that guy that I sat next to on the plane was detained in N.Korea, his family also used this site.

I'll send an email through the website.

[Deleted]

Aug 5, 2014 9:21:21 GMT -5 elle said:

Maybe it would help if there is a stock message you want people to send? I know a personal one means more, and will do that, but you might get more follow through with a three sentence one that could be copied and pasted.

Also, I was not sure what topic to select. I went with human rights. But if they get sorted I would hate for the requests to go into different pots.

I didn't see a human rights option?  I saw Civil Rights.  And also Iraq, Middle East....

sonrisa I'll wait to submit until you confirm what category we should use.  I'm certain that different categories get sent to different people and we'll want to all use the same one so they see a big uptick in volume.

[sonrisa]

I sent it under "Foreign Policy" (and a copy under civil rights). I'll edit the OP to say so.

[kirra]

sonrisa

Can you tag me when you post the form letter? I'll probably make some changes to personalize it, but I want to make sure I don't miss anything.

[Deleted]

Here is what I sent - it feels inadequate, but I'm time bound today and wanted to get something sent...posted so others could use it as a jumping off point.

Dear Senator Boxer,

This letter is to request your help to free Jason Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi and others who were detained and jailed in Iraq two weeks ago. The story was reported here (www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2014/08/media-iran) as well as in the NY Post.

Jason, a correspondant of the Washington Post is a dual citizen of Iraq and the United States. He is a Bay Area native, having grown up in Marin and lived in your district during your time representing the 6th district in the House.

I ask that you please use your resources to help bring them home safely.

Best regards,
fields

[sonrisa]

Aug 5, 2014 14:30:16 GMT -5 fields said:

Here is what I sent - it feels inadequate, but I'm time bound today and wanted to get something sent...posted so others could use it as a jumping off point.

Dear Senator Boxer,

This letter is to request your help to free Jason Rezaian, his wife Yeganeh Salehi and others who were detained and jailed in Iraq two weeks ago. The story was reported here (www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2014/08/media-iran) as well as in the NY Times.

Jason, a correspondant of the Washington Post is a dual citizen of Iran and the United States. He is a Bay Area native, having grown up in Marin and lived in your district during your time representing the 6th district in the House.

I ask that you please use your resources to help bring them home safely.

Best regards,
fields

Thanks, fields.

[aussiecrush]

Message sent. Would it be ok tweet about this?

[sonrisa]

Aug 5, 2014 15:00:15 GMT -5 aussiecrush said:

Message sent. Would it be ok tweet about this?

please do :-)

[Deleted]

::bump::

[sonrisa]

Anthony Bourdain wrote an article today about Jason and his wife for the Washington Post. It describes what kind people they are and why they were the last people Iran should arrest.

www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/08/05/these-people-i-interviewed-in-iran-clearly-loved-the-country-so-why-did-it-put-them-in-jail/

[sonrisa]

Here are my thoughts on possible language. My main goal is to get him on her radar. 

Topic: Foreign Policy
Subject: "Help Free Jason Rezaian"

"Dear Senator Boxer,

I am writing as a concerned citizen / constituent [depending on whether you live in California]. Please use your influence as Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues to help free Jason Rezaian his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and others jailed with them. Jason is a Washington Post correspondent and dual citizen of Iran and the US who was jailed by Iran two weeks ago."

Then add something that resonates with you or feels worth mentioning. It could be some of the following issues:

1) the importance of a free press

2) Iran should bring charges or let them go

3) how his reporting on Iran in US media was never extremist or controversial

4) why she should take extra interest in a US citizen who grew up in her district and under her governance

5) his mother has made a plea asking he can see a doctor and have access to medication because of existing health issues

kirra

[Deleted]

Ugh, where did I get Iraq from! Sorry Sonrisa, but hopefully they will see it as a typo.

[sonrisa]

Aug 5, 2014 22:56:44 GMT -5 fields said:

Ugh, where did I get Iraq from! Sorry Sonrisa, but hopefully they will see it as a typo.

I think getting his name out there is the main point. They won't act without doing their own due diligence, but if they keep seeing his name it might spur them to look deeper.

[kirra]

I'm not from California, so I don't know if it will matter, but I emailed her as a concerned citizen.

[kirra]

sonrisa Her website says that mail delivered to her DC office is delayed because of security measures, and that for a quicker response to send it to her California office.

[sonrisa]

Aug 5, 2014 23:20:23 GMT -5 kirra said:

sonrisa Her website says that mail delivered to her DC office is delayed because of security measures, and that for a quicker response to send it to her California office.

Thanks for letting me know. I'm going to take that part out of the OP.

[gretchenindisguise]

Done.

[Deleted]

Aug 5, 2014 15:57:34 GMT -5 eso said:

Sent!

Aug 5, 2014 9:21:21 GMT -5 elle said:

Maybe it would help if there is a stock message you want people to send? I know a personal one means more, and will do that, but you might get more follow through with a three sentence one that could be copied and pasted.

Also, I was not sure what topic to select. I went with human rights. But if they get sorted I would hate for the requests to go into different pots.

What I did was just take her paragraph and change the wording to "your" for the most part. Good idea though. 

That's what I did, too, and I had it copied to paste here, then thought sonrisa could probably write something more compelling than what I ripped off from her OP, and if there was going to be a mass message it would be better if it was good.

Somrisa- I know how you are about your anonymity, so I think this is a very nice thing you are doing. And Barbara Boxer is a great idea. I am keeping them in my thoughts.

[joshlyman]

I will certain do this - so so sorry for your friend, his wife, and both of their families. What an awful situation.

[sonrisa]

Aug 5, 2014 23:43:27 GMT -5 elle said:

Somrisa- I know how you are about your anonymity, so I think this is a very nice thing you are doing. And Barbara Boxer is a great idea. I am keeping them in my thoughts.

I've written so many letters over the years to try and get the release of strangers who were held as prisoners of conscience and probable victims of torture. I couldn't just sit back in the case of someone I know. This place is my best bet for spreading the word.

[sonrisa]

Yes, I'm bumping this. Here is the latest article in the NY Times:

A U.S. Journalist’s Arrest Points to a Power Struggle In the Leadership of Iran
Jason Rezaian of Washington Post and Wife Still Held

By THOMAS ERDBRINKAUG. 7, 2014

TEHRAN — Jason Rezaian knew he was being watched. A man on a motorcycle had been following him and his wife for weeks, his colleagues said. The tail was so blatant that Mr. Rezaian, The Washington Post’s correspondent in Tehran, had even managed to take a picture of the license plate.

Like many foreign journalists accredited by the Iranian authorities, Mr. Rezaian had grown painfully accustomed to being under constant suspicion. Opponents of Iran’s leaders accuse correspondents of soft-pedaling to avoid being expelled, while conservatives inside Iran often call them spies. Some hard-liners even say they should be executed.

“It’s like walking a tightrope,” Mr. Rezaian, 38, said in June. “When you fall down, it is over.”

Then on July 22, plainclothes men waving an arrest warrant signed by Iran’s judiciary forced their way into Mr. Rezaian’s apartment, taking him and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a journalist for a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, to an unknown location.

Aside from one phone call from Ms. Salehi telling her parents that she was at “a party,” they have not been heard from since.

Their arrest and that of another colleague, a photographer who is a dual American-Iranian citizen like Mr. Rezaian, have sent a shudder through the press corps at a time when crucial international talks over Iran’s nuclear program are underway. But they also point to a deep-seated division between Iran’s president and the largely unelected state institutions that hold the real power in this nation.

“This is an embarrassment for the president,” said Farshad Ghorbanpour, a journalist close to Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani.

Iran often presents a united front to outsiders, but since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, it has been sharply divided among different groups competing for influence. Mr. Rouhani was elected in 2013 after promising more domestic freedoms and better relations with the outside world — including with the nation’s archenemy, the United States — but he has found limited room to maneuver, checked by an alliance of hard-line clerics and commanders that has steadfastly opposed his agenda.

While Mr. Rouhani has suggested reining in the morality police, who often arrest women not covering their hair completely, his opponents have organized demonstrations demanding a crackdown on those not properly veiled. As he has called for greater personal rights, the city of Tehran, controlled by a former Revolutionary Guards commander, has started segregating men and women in municipal offices.

On the international front, Mr. Rouhani’s calls for normalizing relations with Western countries have been countered by weekly shouts of “death to America” during Friday Prayer, and this week lawmakers proposed a plan requiring the government to buy weapons and send them to the West Bank to arm the Palestinians. Last month, after Mr. Rouhani floated the possibility of cooperating with the United States to stem the chaos in Iraq, where militants have seized cities and towns, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, quickly told the Americans to back off, warning them not to intervene.

Now the arrests of the journalists have added to the push and pull between the two nations.

“Those who arrested them are acting like bulls in a china shop,” said one official with inside knowledge of the case but who was not authorized to speak publicly. The official said he would wait for the results of the investigation to see whether the journalists had engaged in illegal activities, but added, “Even if they did something, this show of strength was unnecessary and counterproductive.”

Iran’s judiciary has recently been overseeing a series of arrests of local activists, journalists and Facebook users around the country, often executed by the intelligence arm of the Revolutionary Guards.

But for all the suspicion of foreign reporters, they are usually not the targets of such clampdowns. In Iran, accredited correspondents are free to work in the capital, though they need permission to work elsewhere in the country. They are not subjected to censorship before publication, but articles that Iranian officials feel cross an invisible line can in some cases lead to a temporary or permanent withdrawal of press credentials.

Mr. Rezaian, who had been working for The Washington Post since 2012, was arrested the day his credentials had been renewed. His latest article had been about baseball in Iran.

“Our office has not had any issues with them; they are members of our family of journalists,” said Mohammad Koushesh, the director of the government organization that oversees Iran’s foreign press corps. Mr. Koushesh said that he had asked the judiciary “for news about the journalists, but they are asking us in return to wait for the official accusations to be presented.” He added, “We hope they are released soon.”

Days after the arrests, Tehran’s chief justice, Gholam Hossein Esmaili, implied the journalists were “enemies” but did not specify accusations against them, saying that more interrogations were needed, the state Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

“The security forces have the whole country under surveillance and control the activities of enemies,” he was quoted as saying. “They will not permit our country to become a land where our enemies and their agents carry out their activities.”

The Washington Post said it had not been given any explanation.

“Sadly, inexplicably, we continue to hear nothing from Iran about Jason, his wife, Yeganeh, and other detainees,” its executive editor, Martin Baron, said in a statement. “We do not know where he is, we do not know why he is being held, and we know nothing about his health.”

“We can imagine no good reason for him to be held,” he added.

Iran and the United States have made similar arrests before, sometimes on charges of spying or evading international sanctions. A former American Marine, Amir Hekmati, a dual American-Iranian citizen, is currently serving a 10-year sentence in Tehran’s Evin prison under charges of “practical collaboration with the American government.” In 2009, Roxana Saberi, another dual citizen and a journalist, was arrested on accusations of spying and sentenced to eight years in prison, but was later released.

In 2009, Iran captured three Americans who said they had been hiking along the Iraqi-Kurdistan border. One was released, but the two others were sentenced in 2011 on charges of spying before being released as well.

Several Iranians have also been arrested in the United States. In 2013, an Iranian chip expert, Mojtaba Atarodi, was released after being held since late 2011, having been accused of trying to buy equipment for Iran’s nuclear program. In 2013, possibly under a secret deal before the nuclear talks, the United States released four Iranians, including a former ambassador to Jordan, who had been accused of trying to buy night-vision goggles.

It remains unclear whether the arrests of Mr. Rezaian, Ms. Salehi and the photographer — whose family has asked that her name not be published out of fear of derailing negotiations for her release — are in any way connected to the recent arrests of other local activists and journalists in Iran. Mr. Rezaian, the son of an Iranian rug seller and an American mother, grew up in Marin County, north of San Francisco, but moved to Iran in 2004 and lived there on and off. In 2013, he married Ms. Salehi, a reporter who had recently been granted permanent residency in the United States.

“Jason is not a reporter seeking confrontation, and Yeganeh isn’t either,” said a friend in Tehran, asking for anonymity out of fear of those who arrested Mr. Rezaian. “They always meant well, but Jason and Yeganeh loved Iran, its people and culture. Some of their stories drew aggressive reactions from foreign-based Iranian dissidents saying they were too soft on the Islamic Republic. Out of all the journalists here, I never expected this to happen to them.”