HRANA News Agency – The eight-year prison sentence of Saeed Madani, a writer and sociologist currently imprisoned in Damavand Prison, has been reduced to four years following the acceptance of his request for retrial and a new hearing in a parallel court branch.

Mostafa Nili, a defense attorney, wrote: “After the Supreme Court accepted the retrial request, the parallel branch reduced Mr. Saeed Madani’s sentence for the charge of forming a group from eight years to four years. He is currently serving his sentence in Damavand Prison, contrary to the law.”

On April 2, 2024, this writer and sociologist was transferred from Evin Prison to Damavand Prison. His lawyer called the transfer “in violation of prison regulations.” The news outlet Etemad also reported that the move was carried out under “pressure from security agencies and by order of the Prosecutor General.”

In November 2022, Saeed Madani was sentenced by Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Ali Mazloum, to eight years in prison for “forming and running anti-government groups,” and to one year for “propaganda against the regime.” The verdict was fully upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals.

Madani was arrested in May 2022. Mehr News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Propaganda Organization, cited “suspicious foreign ties and anti-security activities” as reasons for his arrest. After two months in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, he was transferred to Ward 4 of the same facility.

In June 2023, he was also formally charged in another case opened against him.

It is worth noting that Saeed Madani has published research on social issues in Iran, including poverty and inequality, addiction, child abuse, violence against women, sex work, social welfare, and similar topics. He has prior arrest and conviction records from 1994, 2000, 2001, and 2011.

In January 2022, his passport was confiscated at the airport and he was prevented from leaving the country.