
Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s press aide who is serving a six-month sentence in Evin Prison, has been given a furlough.
The Fars News Agency reports that Javanfekr has been given a temporary leave at the request of his family.
Javanfekr, the head of IRNA, was handed a six-month sentence for the charge of “publishing articles against Islamic principles and public decency.” He has also been barred from media activities for three years.
Javanfekr was summoned to serve his sentence while Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in New York to attend the United National General Assembly. After his return, the Iranian president demanded to visit Evin Prison, but the request was turned down by the judiciary.
The incident led to a fierce dispute between Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Larijani, the head of the judiciary, and it was only put to rest after the intervention of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Javanfekr, who began serving his sentence in September, told ISNA that he has been given a four-day leave.
Javanfekr was quoted as saying: “At Evin, I am in a cell with four other people and have no particular problems there.”