Iranian human rights activist Kouhyar Goudarzi was released on bail last night after eight months in prison.
The Human Rights Reporters Committee reports that Goudarzi, who has been sentenced to five years in jail and exile to Zabol, was temporarily released last night. Goudarzi was arrested in August of 2011 and held in solitary confinement for more than 50 days. He was denied any phone calls to his family for three months and was refused any visitation rights throughout his imprisonment.
The activist was first arrested in December of 2009 during the election protests that challenged Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory with charges of vote fraud. Goudarzi was charged with “propaganda activities against the regime through effective collaboration with the Human Rights Reporters Committee and the collection and publishing of news against the regime and of articles on websites” and given one year in jail.
He was released in December of 2010 after serving his jail term and was arrested again the following year.
Goudarzi’s mother, Parvin Mokhtareh, was also arrested in August of 2011, at the same time as her son, and she was released in March after eight months.
Mokhtareh was arrested for communicating with the media while her son was in jail.
Goudarzi was awarded the John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award in 2010 by the Washington-based National Press Club.
