Hila Sedighi, Iranian Poet Released on Bail

Reports indicate that Hila Sedighi, an Iranian poet who was detained upon her return to Iran, was released on bail on Saturday, January 19. Previously, a relative of Hila Sedighi confirmed her arrest to Radio Farda on the evening of Thursday, January 17, at Imam Khomeini Airport. The website Kaleme, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, also reported on Hila Sedighi's arrest upon her entry into Iran, stating, "It has been said that a case has been filed against her in the Media Prosecutor's Office and she has been sentenced in absentia." Ms. Sedighi had been summoned and interrogated several times following the protests of 2009 against the presidential election results. She was arrested in 2011. Reports indicate that the Revolutionary Court sentenced Hila Sedighi to four months of imprisonment and five years of suspended prison. In 2012, Hila Sedighi, along with 40 writers and poets from 19 countries, won the Hellman-Hammett Award for Freedom of Expression. In a statement by Human Rights Watch regarding the award, it was noted that she had written numerous poems in response to the severe crackdown on protests against the 2009 presidential election.