Why Press Freedom? Because We Are The National Press Club

We have worked hard in 2015 for the cause of press freedom. Thanks to Congressional Quarterly's John Donnelly, and the excellent work of his NPC Press Freedom Committee, we have drawn special attention to three journalists who are being held in captivity for practicing their craft. They are the Washington Post's Jason Rezaian, held in Iran; freelancer Austin Tice, detained in Syria; and Khadija Ismayilova, jailed in Azerbaijan.

On May 26, we opened the doors of the National Press Club's broadcast center to Ali Rezaian, the brother of Jason. We extended to him staff support, food and other assistance for a full day of work dedicated to telling his brother's story around the world in the hope that Jason will be set free.

It was a long day for Ali, who spoke with conviction and passion. Thanks to the National Press Club, before the day was done, Ali spoke with news organizations including BBC World, WNYC Radio, MSNBC's Morning Joe, CNN's "New Day," BBC Persia, AP, CNN.com, MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," AFP, Al Jazeera English, Huffington Post, Bloomberg, FOX, WUSA, PBS News Hour and Reuters TV.

Why did we help? The Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. We fight for a free press worldwide. We were proud to use our resources for this purpose!

On the same day Ali was speaking to the world through the Club, his brother Jason rose in an Iranian court and declared his innocence on charges of espionage. Jason is reported to have said: "I am a journalist, and all of my activities have been conducted as a journalist, and all were legal."

"I am a journalist." The words are easily and often said by many of our 3,100 Club members worldwide. Yet, the words may never have been uttered in a more meaningful way than yesterday in the Iranian court.

Across many time zones, Jason and Ali spoke eloquently for press freedom. The Club was proud to assist.

Now we call on all journalists to dig down and help, not only Jason, but Austin, Khadija and other journalists under attack. What can you do? Tell your friends about it. Wear a pin. Sign a petition. Tweet. Post. Make noise. Support organizations like the Club that are assisting these journalists.

Remember, it is not just these journalists who are being targeted -- it is journalism itself, and the human right of free speech. Oppressors eventually learn they can't stamp out a free press. Together, we can help them realize this sooner rather than later.