Rajabian Brothers Released on Bail from Evin Prison

Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian, two young Iranian artists who were sentenced to prison on charges such as 'propaganda against the regime,' have been released on bail. They spent approximately a year and a half in solitary confinement at Evin Prison and have now been granted leave until the final decision of Branch 54 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court is made. Their lawyer is hopeful that under Article 134, this leave could lead to their permanent release. Article 134 stipulates that if a convicted individual has multiple offenses, only the highest punishment will be applied, not the total of all. Mehdi Rajabian confirmed this on his Facebook page, stating that based on Article 134, their prison term might be suspended. Mehdi Rajabian, a 28-year-old composer and musician, was researching traditional music and was studying music when he was arrested, which interrupted his education. He is the founder of 'Barg Music,' one of the most well-known and active alternative music websites in Iran. Hossein Rajabian, 32, is a filmmaker and photographer who was completing his first feature film 'The Inverted Triangle' at the time of his arrest. The Rajabian brothers were arrested in October 2013 at their workplace along with another composer named Yousef Emadi (who is serving his prison term in Evin) and were transferred to Ward 2-A of Evin Prison. After about three months, Hossein and Mehdi Rajabian were released on bail. Their case was reviewed in the summer of 2015 in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Moghiseh, where they were sentenced to six years in prison for 'insulting sacred beliefs' and 'propaganda against the regime.' This sentence was later reduced in the appeals court to three years of imprisonment and three years of suspended sentence, and both brothers reported to Evin Prison on June 5, 2016. The imprisonment of these artists faced numerous international protests, including a letter from the Music Freedom Defense Association along with nine other international organizations calling for their acquittal addressed to the head of Iran's judiciary and other officials of the Islamic Republic. In this context, the Tehran prosecutor summoned three artists to serve their prison sentences, while UN special rapporteurs called for the release of three Iranian artists. The Rajabian brothers went on a hunger strike in protest of 'lack of medical care and absence of leave,' raising concerns about the situation of three prisoners after the hunger strike.