Iran Says It Will Free 4 Environmentalists Convicted As Spies
Date
4/8/2024 12:13:30 AM
(MENAFN- AzerNews) Four environmentalists who spent more than five years in prisonafter being convicted of spying will be freed following a pardonfrom Iran's supreme leader, state media reportedSunday.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pardoned more than 2,000 inmates tomark celebrations for the end of the Muslim holy month ofRamadan.
Their release date was not immediately clear, but their lawyerHojat Kermani said it will be "in the coming days."
"My clients were informed by the judiciary's deputy of humanrights that they are included in the amnesty," Kermani told theofficial IRNA news agency.
He named his clients as Sepideh Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, HoumanJowkar, and Taher Ghadirain.
They were arrested in 2018 on suspicion of espionage for foreigngovernments, among other charges, and were given jail sentences ofup to 10 years.
The environmentalists worked for Persian Wildlife HeritageFoundation, a conservationist organization which protectsendangered species.
In early 2018, Iranian-Canadian environmentalist and universityprofessor Kavous Seyed Emami, 63, died in prison.
He reportedly committed suicide a fortnight after his arrest, anallegation rejected by his relatives.
In 2023, wildlife conservationist Morad Tahbaz was among fiveAmerican prisoners released from Iran as part of a prisoner swapdeal with the United States.
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