Report: Washington Post bureau chief to stand trial in Iran

Authorities in Tehran have indicted the Washington Post’s Iran Bureau Chief, Jason Rezaian, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported Wednesday on its Farsi-language website, without specifying what charges he faces or a date for a trial to begin.

Rezaian, an Iranian-American with dual citizenship who has been detained in Iran since July 22, 2014, is set to appear in the country's Revolutionary Court, the report said. No date was mentioned for the trial.

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said that Rezaian's mother had traveled to Iran to meet with her son, along with an Iranian case worker who handles his file.

His brother, Ali Rezaian, told Al Jazeera that the indictment was not entirely unexpected, and that he expected a court date to be set within the next two weeks.

"It's part of the process ... they've been going through their legal process very slowly," Ali said by phone from Istanbul, where he was visiting their mother, Mary Rezaian.

He said his brother has not yet been allowed to meet with an attorney, to view his file or to review the evidence against him.

"The biggest concern is his mental health,” Ali Rezaian said. “He's now been held longer than any other Western journalist ... nearly six months."

Mary Rezaian, who has been allowed to visit twice during the holidays, told Ali that his brother had lost about 45 pounds and is now receiving medication for an eye infection.

Jason Rezaian was initially arrested with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a reporter for the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National, and two acquaintances.

Salehi and the others, who have not been named, have been released.

The reporter's detention was extended in December shortly before he was charged with "unspecified crimes," according to a statement made by his employer.

Mary Rezaian has indicated that the charges against her son are “related to espionage.” However, Ali Rezaian told Al Jazeera,"At this point, neither she nor I have a clear understanding of what the charges are."

In a November interview, Mohammed Javad Larijani, head of Iran’s Human Rights Council and top adviser to the country’s Supreme Leader, said Rezaian might be charged with being involved in “activities beyond journalism."