The brother of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian -- who has been detained in Tehran since July 2014 -- has delivered a petition to Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York calling for his release.
The move came on the 500th day since the detention of the 39-year-old Rezaian, who holds dual American and Iranian citizenship.
"They need to know that folks around the world are concerned about this," Rezaian’s brother, Ali, was quoted as saying on December 3.
Rezaian expressed concern about the health of his brother, which he said has been deteriorating in prison.
Last month, Iran’s Judiciary announced that Rezaian had been sentenced to an unspecified prison term following his conviction on charges that included espionage.
Rezaian’s family and The Washington Post have dismissed the charges against him as baseless.
The newspaper said on December 2 that it has submitted new information about Rezaian to a UN working group on arbitrary detention.
"Iran has never even bothered to produce any evidence against him,” said The Washington Post's executive editor, Martin Baron.
U.S. President Barack Obama has called for Tehran to release Rezaian.
