Every year, journalists around the world experience censorship, surveillance, and, in extreme cases of press suppression, imprisonment and murder. On July 22, 2014, Jason Rezaian, who served as Tehran bureau chief for The Washington Post, was arrested by Iranian authorities from his apartment, along with his wife.

Globally, between 2015 and 2019, a total of 454 journalists were killed and 594 were imprisoned — and this number is increasing.

This episode tells the ordeal Jason suffered while detained in Iran’s Evin Prison for more than 500 days. We discuss the troubled relationship between the United States and Iran and explore global trends related to media intimidation and the crackdown on journalists. Finally, we share some ideas on how listeners can advocate for freedom of expression and support journalists whose rights have been assaulted.

Learn from expert voices: David Kaye, Professor of Law at UC Irvine School of Law, and Farnaz Fassihi, Reporter for the New York Times.

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Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media.