Ahmad Zeidabadi to be Exiled After Six Years in Prison

Ahmad Zeidabadi's wife has stated that they have been informed that this imprisoned journalist will be sent directly from prison to Gonabad to serve his exile after completing his six-year prison term. Mahdieh Mohammadi wrote on her personal Facebook page that the family was waiting for his release on Thursday, May 31, but they were informed that Mr. Zeidabadi would be sent directly to exile from prison. Ahmad Zeidabadi, a journalist and Secretary General of the Islamic Graduates Organization of Iran, was arrested after the presidential election on June 22, 2009. He was later tried collectively in the courts known as the "Velvet Revolution" after weeks of solitary confinement and was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in December of that year to six years in prison, five years of exile in Gonabad, and a lifetime ban from social and political activities. In 2009, following the publication of numerous reports of mistreatment by agents and interrogators against Ahmad Zeidabadi, several international human rights organizations called on Iranian authorities to release him. In this context, Mohammad Sadeghi, a member of the Central Council and Policy Council of the Unity of Islamic Students, told Radio Farda that Mr. Zeidabadi was "under severe torture and pressure to publicly apologize in court for publishing a critical article about the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in which he did not address Ayatollah Khamenei as 'Most Honorable.'" In 2011, UNESCO introduced Ahmad Zeidabadi as the winner of the "Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize." Diana Senghor, the chair of the jury for this press award, stated that the award is "a tribute to the exceptional courage, perseverance, and commitment" of Mr. Zeidabadi to "democracy, human rights, tolerance, and humanity." Ahmad Zeidabadi was also awarded the prestigious "Golden Pen of Freedom" by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers based in Paris in 2010. In 2000, Ahmad Zeidabadi had also spent 13 months in prison for propaganda against the regime, disturbing public opinion, and acting against the regime. Meanwhile, reports indicate that Mehdi Motamedi Mehr, head of the Education Committee of the Freedom Movement of Iran, was sent on leave from Rajai Shahr Prison on May 29, 2015. According to Mizan News, Mehdi Motamedi Mehr was arrested on March 16, 2014, and after spending three and a half months in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, he was exiled to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj to serve his five-year definitive sentence. In this context, Keyvan Samimi was released; Ahmad Zeidabadi's sentence is coming to an end. Why is there stricter enforcement against some imprisoned journalists? Awarding the World Press Freedom Prize to Ahmad Zeidabadi. Ahmad Zeidabadi was awarded the UNESCO press prize. "The Ministry of Intelligence does not allow Ahmad Zeidabadi to take leave." Ahmad Zeidabadi was introduced as the winner of the "Golden Pen of Freedom."