[JURIST] Iranian authorities have released 30 political prisoners from Evin prison, opposition website Cyrusnews reported Sunday. The release is being attributed to family members of the imprisoned, who gathered outside the prison for a week demanding their relatives be freed. It is estimated that hundreds of students, activists, and journalists have been arrested as political prisoners following the ongoing anti-government protests that were spurred by last June’s controversial presidential election that saw the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Amnesty International (AI) has called for the release of all political prisoners in Iran and condemned the nation, alleging a general contempt for human rights.
Last week, Iranian official Mohammad Javad Larijani told the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that Iran is fulfilling its human rights obligations. The UNHRC was examining Iran’s human rights record as part of its two-week Universal Periodic Review session. AI has criticized Iran’s report to the UNHRC, calling its portrayal of the state of human rights in the nation distorted. Earlier this month, former Iranian deputy foreign minister Mohsen Aminzadeh was sentenced to six years in prison for his participation in post-election protests. Aminzadeh is one of the highest-ranking opposition officials to be convicted for protesting the highly disputed presidential election. Last month, Iran’s Prosecutor-General Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei called for sedition trials against protest leaders. Earlier this month, Fars News Agency reported that Iran will soon execute nine people for their roles in the post-election protests. The nine protesters were charged with the capital crime of moharebeh, which means waging war against God. Two others were executed for the same crime in January.