Iranian Environmental Activists Freed After Years in Prison

Iranian environmental activists Sepideh Kashani and Taher Qadirian, imprisoned since 2016, were released on Tuesday, just hours after the release of two other activists. 

The news spread on social networks, accompanied by a photo of them. On Monday, incarcerated environmental activists Niloofar Bayani and Homan Jokar were also freed from Evin prison.

Niloofar Bayani, Sepideh Kashani, Homan Jokar, and Taher Qadirian are environmental activists whose lawyer announced they had been granted amnesty on Sunday. 

They all worked at the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, dedicated to saving the Iranian cheetah from extinction. 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence accused them of espionage without presenting evidence.

These activists, along with five others—Abdolreza Kohpayeh, Sam Rajabi, Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Morad Tahbaz, and Kavous Seyed Emami—were charged with "espionage" and "collaboration with hostile countries." 

Subsequently, Bayani and Tahbaz received ten-year sentences, Jokar and Qadirian received eight years, while Rajabi, Kashani, Khaleghi, and Hamid were sentenced to six years each. Kohpayeh received the shortest sentence of four years. 

Previously, Kohpayeh, Rajabi, and Khaleghi were released after completing their terms. Tahbaz was also freed in a prisoner exchange last year. 

Kavous Seyed Emami died just a month after his arrest during interrogation by the Revolutionary Guards. 

The authorities claimed it was suicide, but his family vehemently disputes this. No independent investigation has been conducted into the death of the prominent Iranian environmentalist.