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Iranwire – The Iranian judiciary has announced the release from prison of two well-connected men who had been convicted in separate corruption cases: Hossein Fereydoun, the brother of former President Hassan Rouhani, and Hadi Razavi, the son-in-law of an ex-minister of labor.
Judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi told a press conference on July 18 that Fereydoun was released on July 13 to receive medical treatment.
“If someone has a medical issue, we cannot detain them,” he added.
The Islamic Republic often denies medical treatment to political prisoners who suffer from serious health conditions.
Fereydoun was convicted of “receiving bribes” in 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison. He was also ordered to return any property he had acquired illicitly.
Seteyshi said that Razavi “has been in prison since 2019, his retrial was accepted in 2021, and he is currently free in accordance with the law.”
The son-in-law of former Labor Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to forfeit 72 billion tomans ($540,000), the spokesman said.
He had been convicted of embezzlement and “disruption of the economy” after receiving 2.11 trillion rials ($51 million) in loans from banks, which he failed to pay back.
Razavi and Fereydoun were released from prison at a time when the Islamic Republic has intensified pressure on political and civil activists ahead of the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death.
Amini died while in police custody on September 16, 2022, sparking months of anti-establishment protests across the country.
More than 520 people were killed and over 19,000 were unlawfully detained in the authorities’ crackdown on the women-led protest movement. Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.
