Report on the Release of Prisoners in the Last 24 Hours

In the past 24 hours, several prisoners of conscience were released from different prisons across Iran. Although details of these releases are still unknown, they are likely released under recent approval to “pardon and commute” the sentence of some prisoners.

Of these pardoned prisoners, the most known prisoners are:

  1. Film Director Mohammad Rasoulof from Evin Prison
  2. Azerbaijani (Turk) activist Akbar Naeimi from Evin Prison
  3. Gonabadi Dervish Mostafa Abdi from Evin Prison
  4. Political prisoner Forough Taghipour from Evin Prison
  5. Women rights activist Maryam Mohammadi from Evin Prison
  6. Women rights activist Asrin Darkaleh from Evin Prison
  7. Political prisoner Kazem Alinejad Baraloo Evin Prison
  8. Farshad Ahmadi from Evin Prison
  9. Political prisoner Khadijeh Mehdipour from Ilam Prison
  10. Mahsa Mohammadi from Isfahan Prison
  11. Tohid Goreishi from Rajai Shahr Prison, Karaj
  12. Worker’s rights activist Esmail Gerami from Rajai Shahr Prison, Karaj
  13. Political prisoner Mojtaba Tavakol from Rajai Shahr Prison, Karaj
  14. Shahrooz Ramezan Afshar from Rajai Shahr Prison, Karaj
  15. Mehdi Abbaspour from Rajai Shahr Prison, Karaj
  16. Civil rights activist Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb from Rajai Shahr Prison, Karaj
  17. Soheila Ojaghi from Qarchak Prison, Varamin

Moreover, the legal cases against Milad Alavi,(journalist), Elham Sayrafi and Amir Sheibani Zaveh were closed without further legal proceedings.

Earlier, the head of the Judiciary proposed the issuance of a pardon decree for some prisoners, including those arrested at recent protests, which was approved by Ali Khamenei under some conditions which the legal case should meet.

Khadijeh Mehdipour Beaten in Ilam Prison

On February 10, political prisoner Khadijeh Mehdipour was beaten by several prisoners of violent crime in Ilam Prison. Mehdipour is currently held in a ward where she is housed alongside prisoners of violent crime, which is in violation of the prison rules.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Mehdipour was beaten by her three fellow inmates.

According to an informed source, the beating was instigated by the head of the prison. Mehdipour has been hurt in her eyes.

Confirming this news, Public Relations of the Ilam Prison Organization in an announcement claimed that after watching a documentary about Qasem Soleimani and the marching following his death, Mehdipour uttered offensive statements against Soleimani, leading to a quarrel with one of her fellow inmates.

He claimed further that this quarrel occurred without any instigation from prison officials and no one got hurt seriously.

Mehdipour is currently serving her 20 month sentence in Ilam Prison.

On October 10, 2021, the IRGC’s intelligence agents arrested her at her uncle’s house and transferred her to Ilam Prison after two days of interrogation.

Finally, she was sentenced to 20 months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “offensive statements against the supreme leader of Iran”. She was acquitted of the charge of “advocating for anti-regime groups”.

She had earlier faced other arrests and convictions. On October 3, 2020, the security forces arrested her in Ilam City and thereafter she was fined 3 million tomans in exchange for imprisonment.