Saeed Madani Goes to Bandar Abbas for Exile

The National Religious website reported on Friday, March 18, that Saeed Madani, a sociologist and member of the National Religious Activists Council, has traveled to Bandar Abbas to serve his exile. This website had previously reported that Madani was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 10 years of exile to Bandar Abbas by Branch 36 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, and this sentence was upheld by the appeals court. The Khabar Online website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reported on Wednesday that Madani was released from Evin Prison under conditional release and the implementation of Article 134 of the Consolidation Law, but his exile sentence was immediately enforced. According to reports, Madani's exile sentence has also been reduced to two years. He was arrested on January 7, 2012, and transferred from Ward 209 of Evin Prison, affiliated with the Ministry of Intelligence, to Ward 350 of Evin Prison in December 2012. During his time in Ward 350, he was transferred back to Ward 209 several times and was eventually moved to Hall 12 of Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj in February 2014. Madani was also arrested in March 1999 along with 15 other National Religious activists and was released on bail after about a year. He has a history of membership in the National Religious Activists Council, the Committee for Defending Free, Fair, and Just Elections, the Committee for Following Up on Arbitrary Arrests, and the Executive Council of the Human Rights Defenders Association. He has conducted research on poverty in Iran, and his recent book titled 'The Necessity of Fighting Poverty and Inequality in Iran' was published by Agah Publishing.