Seven prominent women activists and journalists who had been detained were released from Tehran’s Evin prison, on Thursday. In a video taken moments after their release, they are seen defiantly chanting anti-regime slogans outside prison gates.
Saba Kordafshari, who was held since 2019 following her campaign against the obligatory hijab, and prominent photographer Alieh Motalebzadeh whose recent stint in prison began in April 2022.
The Dublin-based rights group Front Line Defenders said Kordafshari and Motalebzadeh “have played a pivotal role in the women’s rights movement and have been unjustly in prison in the past years.”
The others released were Fariba Asadi, Parastoo Moini, Zahra Safaei, Gelareh Abbasi and Sahereh Hossein, all campaigners who in some cases had been serving years-long sentences.
Earlier this week, Iran released the young protester Armita Abbasi, whose case prompted international concern after she was arrested in October over protests in the city of Karaj outside Tehran.
In November, US news outlet CNN, citing leaks and an anonymous medical source, had reported she was rushed to hospital after being raped while in custody. Khomeinist regime authorities continue to deny all rape allegations made by a vast number of political prisoners.
After her release, Abbasi posted a video on Instagram thanking those who had supported her and had campaigned for her release.
It was not clear if the releases were linked to an announcement by the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that he had agreed to pardon a large number of convicts, including those detained over the protests.
Rights activists have urged scepticism over the announcements, noting many prominent figures remain in jail and activists continue to be arrested.
“Khamenei’s hypocritical pardon doesn’t change anything,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group, describing the move as “propaganda.”
Iranian authorities have arrested thousands since nationwide protests broke out following the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly breaching the country’s strict dress rules for women.
Women still detained include prize-winning rights defender Narges Mohammadi, the two journalists who helped expose the Amini case, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, as well as foreigners including German national Nahid Taghavi and French academic Fariba Adelkhah.
