Caretaker Killed At Scene of Rezaian Arrest

“Revolutionary Guards killed Jason Rezaian’s caretaker when they raided his house,” an Iranian official, who asked not to be named because of security concerns, said today. “The government of President Rouhani is pursuing the matter behind the scenes, but from what I understand the Revolutionary Guards have threatened the family of the poor man [the caretaker] to be quiet about it or else.”

Other sources inside Iran told IranWire that when the agents of the Intelligence Unit of the Revolutionary Guards Corps raided Rezaian’s building on the night of July 22, the caretaker asked agents for an arrest warrant and official identification. Guards responded by attacking the man with an electric shock taser, though it is unclear whether he died on the scene or later at a hospital, and whether the taser itself was the cause of death or a heart attack arising from the shock.

The Iranian official said that the caretaker’s death is now complicating the goverment’s efforts to secure Rezaian’s release.

Rezaian and his wife, Iranian journalist Yeganeh Salehi, were arrested on July 22 in Tehran following the raid on the house, along with two other freelance journalists. As the Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent, Rezaian recently reported on nuclear negotiations in Vienna.