Immediate & Unconditional Release of Mahsa Amrabadi

UPDATE 23 JANUARY 2013 :

Iranian authorities have given furloughs to a number of political prisoners in recent days, including Nasrin Sotoudeh, Bahareh Hedayat, Mahsa Amrabadi (the wife of Masoud Bastani) and Bahman Ahmadi Amouyi.

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Journalist Mahsa Amrabadi, who is married to imprisoned journalist Massoud Bastani, was sent to Evin Prison on 9 May to serve her one year prison sentence.

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Right in Iran, mother of Mahsa Amrabadi expressed shock about her daughter's sudden imprisonment. "Yesterday (Tuesday, 8 May), they called us from the Sentence Enforcement Unit and they said that Mahsa had to turn herself in the next day. I asked whether they wanted to send her to prison, but they did not reply. Mahsa went there with her father today and they sent her to prison at 1:00 p.m. Mahsa was prepared, so she had taken her bag of things and clothes. But I'm still dumbfounded and can't yet believe that she is gone. I thought like other times, she would come back again. I didn't even go to prison with her and say goodbye for the last time," she said.

Asked why after several summonses Mahsa Amrabadi was transferred to prison this time, her mother told the Campaign, "because the Judge in charge of the Sentence Enforcement Unit has changed and the new Judge believed that Mahsa should go to prison."

Journalist Mahsa Amrabadi was arrested in June 2009 and was released two months later on bail of $200,000. Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced her to five years in prison, 4 years of which were suspended and one year to be served, on charges of "propagating against the regime through interviews and reports." An appeals court later upheld Amrabadi's sentence in its entirety. Amrabadi's activities such as participating in Qur'an reading gatherings with families of political prisoners, interviews, and writing reports for newspapers, visits with independent Grand Ayatollah's, and defending her imprisoned husband were cited as evidence of her charges. Security forces arrested Amrabadi a second time during February 2011 demonstrations in Tehran, and she was subsequently released a few days later.

Journalist Massoud Bastani, Mahsa Amrabadi's husband, was also arrested in 2009. He was sentenced to six years in prison and $36,000 in cash fines. He is currently serving his prison term inside Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj and has been denied furlough since his arrest. Amrabadi occasionally spoke with media outlets about her husband's conditions.

Mahsa Amrabadi's mother stated that her daughter has been asked several times in the past to sign a letter, requesting pardon. "The former Judge of the Sentence Enforcement Unit asked Mahsa several times to write a letter, requesting pardon, but Mahsa said that if she wrote a letter requesting a pardon, she would be accepting the accusations made against her, and that she had not committed any crimes and did not accept her charges. She never agreed to writing such a letter," said Amrabadi's mother.

"This sentence is truly cruel for Mahsa. All Mahsa's activities were legal and she worked in this country's legal newspapers. All the accusations made against her are ridiculous and meaningless. In this country, criminals are free, and kids who care about the country are in prison," said Maryam Amrabadi.

"My request of Iran's judicial authorities is to review these cases one more time. Three years ago, there were those who wanted to create a state of crisis in the country. Now, if the authorities wish to end the crisis in the country, they should review these cases again and see whether the rulings they made were fair or not. I believe none of the sentences issued for these kids are fair," she added.

Stating that Amrabadi and her husband are no longer able to visit with each other, Maryam Amrabadi added, "The problem is that Massoud, Mahsa's husband, is at Rajaee Shahr Prison and Mahsa is at Evin Prison. Our minimum request is that they transfer her husband to Evin Prison, so that at least they can see each other once a week."