Faezeh Hashemi Released from Evin Prison on Conditional Terms

Faezeh Hashemi's lawyer, a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and a political activist imprisoned, stated that after the court's approval of her "conditional release," she has been freed from Evin Prison. Mohammad Hossein Aghasi said on Wednesday, September 28, to "Sharghe Network": "Previously, Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani's conditional release was opposed, but today the appellate court's ruling was communicated to us, which approved her release, and she was freed from prison this evening." This lawyer also told ISNA that his client's sentence was three years, of which she has served about two years, and "today she was released on conditional terms, not 'absolute freedom.'" Faezeh Hashemi was sentenced to imprisonment in October 2022. Earlier, her lawyer had stated that her sentence would end in October of the following year. A week ago, Ms. Hashemi wrote a letter from prison on the eve of the anniversary of the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, in which she accused several female prisoners of "dictatorship" and "fascist behaviors." This letter sparked controversy in the Persian-speaking social media. In her letter, Ms. Hashemi particularly criticized leftist and monarchist prisoners, accusing some political prisoners of lying, exaggerating problems inside the prison, and exhibiting dictatorial fascist behavior. Faezeh Hashemi's letter was well-received by Iranian state media, and for example, the text of this letter was republished on the front page of the Mizan news agency's website, the official organ of the judiciary, with the headline "Faezeh Hashemi: We activists are nothing more than empty drums and petty dictators." Some supporters of the reformist movement in Iran welcomed this letter, calling it "an important warning," but a larger number, including some human rights figures and those with prison and activism backgrounds, reacted strongly to its explicit tone. On Wednesday, shortly before the news of Faezeh Hashemi's release was published, Golrokh Iraei, a political prisoner held in Evin Prison, published a note accusing Ms. Hashemi of "blackening" the conditions of the women's ward in Evin and "whitewashing the prison organization and the judiciary of the Islamic Republic."