Bahareh Hedayat's temporary release on two billion rials bail and unspecified charges

Bahareh Hedayat was released from Qarchak Prison in Varamin this afternoon, while her charges are still unclear. Judiciary officials have remained silent on the matter. The bail amount for this political prisoner is two billion rials and her release is temporary.

Bahareh Hedayat, a political prisoner and women's activist, was temporarily released on bail this evening, February 18, two days after being transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin.

The amount of bail for this student activist's temporary release has not yet been officially announced, but some media outlets have reported it at two billion rials.

Bahareh Hedayat was arrested by Tehran Security Police on Monday, February 11, at the same time as being summoned by Tehran University security, and according to some reports, was transferred to Evin Prison at the same time. This incident has drawn the finger of accusation at Tehran University security officials who cooperate with security agencies to detain and arrest students.

This student activist had contacted her family on Tuesday, February 12, to inform them of her arrest and presence at Evin Prosecutor's Office. After Ms. Hedayat was arrested by the security police, the head of security at Tehran University told ILNA that her presence at the November 2019 protests could be one of the reasons for her arrest.

Ms. Hedayat had been transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin since Sunday, February 17. She had been on a hunger strike before being transferred to this prison and since her arrest by Tehran Security Police and her stay in Tehran's Vazra Detention Center. Qarchak Women's Prison in Varamin is compared to Kahrizak Detention Center.

The human rights agency "HRANA" reported Bahareh Hedayat's condition during the strike as worrying, citing its sources as saying that she had suffered from "depression and physical exhaustion."

Currently, several political and human rights prisoners in Iranian prisons are on hunger strike. Prisoner lawyer Amirsalar Davoudi, Mohammad Nourizad, Barzan Mohammadi, Reza Mohammadhosseini, Mehdi Meskinnavaz, and Khaled Pirzadeh are among the prisoners who have gone on hunger strike in recent weeks.

Unclear accusations

Bahareh Hedayat's release comes despite the fact that her charges have not been officially announced by the judiciary. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili denied in a press conference today that the reason for the arrest of Ms. Hedayat and several other students was related to the Iranian parliamentary elections on March 18.

Previously, the head of security at the University of Tehran had implicitly said in an interview with ILNA that these arrests could be related to the nationwide protests in November 2019.

Follow-up of the beating

According to the Young Journalists Club, the Judiciary Spokesperson also denied today that Bahareh Hedayat was "beaten" during her arrest by the security police, saying: "If this person has any allegations about being beaten, they will be investigated."

Some of Ms. Hedayat's friends wrote on Twitter on Monday, February 11, that her arrest was accompanied by beatings.

Bahareh Hedayat, who was released from prison a few hours ago, has not yet reacted to the remarks made by the judiciary spokesperson.

Ms. Hedayat is an activist in the “One Million Signatures Campaign to Change Misogynistic Laws” in Iran and has been arrested several times. She was arrested during the 2009 Iranian elections and sentenced to 9 and a half years in prison, but was eventually released after serving about seven and a half years.

Source: DW