Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post correspondent imprisoned by Iran for 545 days, was welcomed home Thursday by his newsroom colleagues and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

“I’m happy to be home,” the newspaper’s former Tehran bureau chief told a cheering throng at the newspaper’s new headquarters not far from the White House in downtown Washington.

In a brief speech, the 39-year-old Rezaian said it was “truly humbling” that so many people, including U.S. government officials, journalists and his relatives and friends fought for so long to get Iran to release him. An Iranian court convicted him of espionage, but neither the nature of the charges against him nor his sentence was ever publicly disclosed.

For months, his newspaper and the U.S. government protested his detention, but he was not freed until January 16, the same day the United States and five other world powers implemented an agreement with Tehran curbing its ability to build a nuclear weapon in exchange for lifting sanctions that have hobbled the Iranian economy.

Four other Americans were also released at the same time, while the U.S. freed seven Iranians who had been convicted or accused of violating the trade sanctions.

“This is particularly sweet for everyone for Jason to be home,” an emotional Kerry said. “This gnawed at us because we knew the consequences” of his jailing.

Referring to his own military service, the top U.S. diplomat said Rezaian’s freedom fulfilled “a sacred pledge to leave no buddy behind.”

As the newspaper officially dedicated its new building, Kerry extolled the virtue of a free and independent media presence in democratic countries.

Kerry said that 71 journalists were killed last year because of their profession and the work they did, with another 200 jailed by repressive governments.

“No government…can clearly call itself great,” Kerry said, “if it doesn’t allow freedom of expression. A country without a free and independent press has nothing to brag about.”

 
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