Jailed Iranian journalist Massoud Bastani has been given a furlough for the first time in three years.
The Kaleme website reports that Bastani was released on Sunday, but the authorities have refused to give a similar temporary release to his wife, Mahsa Amrabadi, another jailed journalist.
Bastani was arrested in July of 2009 and sentenced to six years in jail for “propaganda against the regime and assembly and collusion to create disruption.”
He was transferred to Rejaishahr Prison in February of 2010 and last February he was hospitalized for health complications.
Bastani was the editor-in-chief of the Jomhouriat website and had collaborated with prominent Iranian newspapers such as Shargh, Jomhouriat and Kargozaran.
Bastani’s wife, Mahsa Amrabadi, is currently serving a one-year jail term in Evin Prison.
Scores of Iranian journalists were arrested in the aftermath of widespread protests against the 2009 presidential elections, which were tainted with allegations of vote fraud.
