Mehdi Hashemi, the son of Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who heads Iran’s Expediency Council, was released on Sunday evening, December 17, after three months in Evin Prison.
The Tehran Prosecutor’s office announced that Hashemi was released after completion of the investigation and payment of the “appropriate bail.”
Hashemi returned to Iran in September after a three-year absence from Iran. He was immediately taken into custody by the judiciary to complete an investigation regarding charges against him.
Mahmoud Alizadeh, Hashemi’s lawyer, reported that his client had been informed of the charges against him before his release. Alizadeh added that he has not yet been allowed to read his client’s file.
Alizadeh also told IRNA that Mehdi Hashemi has put up the deed to his house for bail.
The Fars News Agency reported last month that charges against Hashemi include “espionage and the transfer of sensitive information”, “disturbing national security” in the days following the controversial 2009 presidential election, “disturbing the economic system of the country” and “corruption during his employment in the oil ministry.”
Mehdi Hashemi has reportedly told his father that the charges against him are in no way backed by any documents and he has denied all charges against him.
