Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO and owner of The Washington Post, traveled to Germany this week to personally escort reporter Jason Rezaian on his private jet to the United States after being released Saturday by Iran.
Rezaian, who was jailed by Tehran in July 2014, was among five Americans who were exchanged for seven Iranians held by the United States.
On Sunday, he was taken to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. Rezaian's Iranian wife, Yeganeh Salehi, was also allowed to leave Tehran aboard the Swiss Air Force flight that carried Rezaian to Europe,
CNN reports.
Rezaian said early Friday that he was heading back to the States.
"I am overjoyed to be reconnecting with my family," he said in a statement. "I am feeling well and plan to relax and enjoy home-cooked meals, sports, and movies with them over the next few days and weeks.
"I appreciate the exceptional care I received from the doctors and medical staff, as well as the hospitality we were shown during our stay on the base," Rezaian said.
Bezos, who purchased the Post in 2013, had dinner with the couple before leaving Germany, a Post spokeswoman said.
"Jeff had dinner with the Rezaians Thursday evening at the Army base in Germany and then flew them back home,"
she told CNN. "Like all of us, he is incredibly happy they are safe and sound."
Rezaian's mother, Mary, also accompanied him on the flight home.
Post editors Martin Baron and Douglas Jehl were in Germany when Rezaian arrived on Sunday, CNN reports. They met with him on Monday.
Bezos has said little publicly about Rezaian's ordeal, but both he and the Post have tweeted on the trip:
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