Temporary Release of Ehsan Mazandarani for Medical Treatment

The defense lawyer of Ehsan Mazandarani, a jailed journalist, announced on Sunday, August 18, the temporary release of his client for medical treatment in a hospital. Houshang Pourbabayi, in an interview with ISNA news agency, referred to his client's hunger strike and transfer to the hospital, stating, "It is hoped that my client's release, considering the regulations in the Islamic Penal Code, will lead to his conditional release." Pourbabayi emphasized, "We aim to utilize Article 58 of the Islamic Penal Code, considering that my client has spent nearly half of his sentence in prison, to enable him to benefit from conditional release and to use this legal opportunity to address his current health issues." On the same day, Malihe Hosseini, Ehsan Mazandarani's wife, also confirmed this news in an interview with ILNA news agency, stating, "This morning I went to the prosecutor's office to inquire about my husband's condition and learned that the prison doctor at Evin had expressed concern about Ehsan Mazandarani's condition over the phone and said he could not do anything for him." She added, "In this regard, we were told to go to Evin ourselves and transfer my husband to the hospital as it seems Ehsan Mazandarani had suffered from stomach bleeding and a severe drop in blood sugar today." Ehsan Mazandarani, who was arrested alongside Eisa Saharkhiz and two other journalists, Saman Safarzadeh and Afrin Chitsaz, in November last year, has been on a hunger strike since October 1. He has threatened to continue this hunger strike until death if his demands are not met. Mr. Mazandarani was sentenced to prison for publishing a video of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani bidding farewell to his son Mehdi Hashemi, who was heading to prison. Ehsan Mazandarani was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges of "propaganda against the regime" and "collusion and conspiracy to act against national security," but this sentence was reduced to two years in the appeals court. The arrest and conviction of media activists in Iran have been consistently criticized by the United Nations and human rights organizations in recent years. Among them is Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, who in his recent report on the human rights situation in Iran accused the Iranian authorities of violating the right to freedom of expression and suppressing journalists and media.