Hamid Baghaei Returns to Evin Prison After Being Released from Hospital

As reports emerged about the return of Hamid Baghaei from the hospital to prison, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran, expressed hope that "tyrants would learn a lesson" from Baghaei's hunger strike. The 'Dolat Bahar' website reported on Saturday, April 11, that Baghaei, who was on a hunger strike, was transferred to the hospital on Friday evening due to "deteriorating health." According to the report, while Baghaei was "undergoing treatment," the Tehran prosecutor ordered him to be returned to prison. Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad, referring to Baghaei's hunger strike and his transfer to the hospital, expressed hope that he had not sustained "serious harm and that tyrants had learned a lesson." He emphasized that Baghaei, by going on a hunger strike, had "welcomed" death "to make his sweet life a testament to his purity and a protest against the great injustice of the judiciary." Ahmadinejad called on his supporters to send "a thousand blessings daily" for the freedom of Baghaei and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. Baghaei, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "embezzlement" and "misappropriation of state funds," was detained and transferred to prison on March 22 to serve his sentence. According to his supporters, he has been on a hunger strike since that time. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff during his presidency, was also arrested two days after he burned Baghaei's sentence in front of the British embassy in Tehran. Meanwhile, on April 6, Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, requesting him to "issue a decisive order to prevent a major disaster and irreparable damages" in light of Baghaei's hunger strike. On the evening of April 9, several of Ahmadinejad's supporters staged a sit-in in Imamzadeh Saleh in Tajrish, Tehran, in protest against the detention of Baghaei and Mashaei, and Ahmadinejad also attended this event. Judiciary officials have not responded to reports about Baghaei's hunger strike. Ezzatollah Zarghami, former head of state television and a principlist figure, urged Ahmadinejad on Twitter to ask Baghaei to end his hunger strike, stating that "patience and the passage of time are the most effective keys to unlocking doors." On April 5, Ahmadinejad once again described the sentence issued for Baghaei as "predetermined" and "political" in a video message. Following the arrest of Baghaei and Mashaei, websites close to Ahmadinejad published the texts of two previous letters he had addressed to the Supreme Leader, in which he severely criticized the state of the country and called for structural reforms in some institutions, including the Guardian Council and the Judiciary, the resolution of parallel institutions, the establishment of a constitutional court, and the withdrawal of armed forces from political and economic affairs. One of the accusations against Baghaei is the "embezzlement" of 3 million 766 thousand euros and 590 thousand dollars from funds delivered to him by the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards. However, Baghaei has stated that the 3 million 766 thousand euros allegedly delivered to him was a "gift" from the Quds Force commander to Ahmadinejad for "social and cultural activities," and Qassem Soleimani announced this at the time of the money's delivery.