Ahmad Zeidabadi, Journalist, Pardoned from Exile in Gonabad

Simultaneously with reports about the release of 11 political prisoners and the 'reduction of punishment' for four other prisoners, Ahmad Zeidabadi's family announced on Thursday, August 1, that this journalist's exile has ended and he has been freed. Ahmad Zeidabadi was sent directly from Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj to Gonabad on May 21, at his own expense, to serve a five-year exile. However, on Thursday, Mr. Zeidabadi's family informed Radio Farda that the Gonabad prosecutor's office announced his 'pardon and release,' but did not disclose the reason for this 'pardon.' Meanwhile, according to the website Khabar Online, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mahdieh Mohammadi Gorgani, Ahmad Zeidabadi's wife, stated that Mr. Zeidabadi had come to Tehran for a 'five-day leave from Gonabad and today we were informed that he is free.' Ahmad Zeidabadi, a journalist and secretary-general of the Islamic Graduates Organization, was arrested after the controversial presidential election of 2009. He was later tried in the courts known as the 'Velvet Revolution' after weeks of solitary confinement and sentenced to six years in prison, five years of exile in Gonabad, and a lifetime ban on social and political activities. According to Khabar Online, the remaining period of Ahmad Zeidabadi's exile 'is included in the Eid al-Fitr pardon.' The website also reported that last Wednesday evening, eleven political prisoners were released from wards 8, 350, and the women's section of Evin prison as 'beneficiaries of the Eid al-Fitr pardon,' and the sentences of four other political prisoners were also reduced. According to this report, some of these prisoners 'were on the verge of completing their sentences and would normally have been released in one to two months.' The website mentioned that Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, a senior advisor to Mir Hossein Mousavi, is among the released prisoners whose sentence 'would normally have ended about a month later.' Other released prisoners included Mehdi Tadin, Ali Zakeri, Reza (Arash) Hampei Gharamaleki, and Mohammad Hassan Youssef Pour Sefidi, who had one to six months remaining on their sentences. According to this website, Neda Mostaghimi, Nasour Naqipour, Masoud Sadeghi, Nader Jani, Mehdi Dolati, and Roham Barkchi Zadeh were also released last Wednesday evening. Additionally, Kazem Barjasteh, Mohsen Rahmani, Behzad Forouzesh, and Ahmad Asgari were granted 'reduction of punishment.' After the 2009 presidential election and the widespread arrest of political activists and protesters, several prisoners have been released on religious occasions under the 'pardon' decree of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. However, reports indicate that the number of prisoners released under this decree has decreased in the past three years compared to previous years.