Iranian Activist Sent Back to Evin Prison With Infant Daughter

TEHRAN, Jun 29: Iranian civil rights activist Rezvaneh Ahmadkhanbeigi has been returned to Tehran’s Evin Prison to continue serving her sentence, accompanied by her infant daughter, a rights group reported on Monday.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Ahmadkhanbeigi returned to the prison with her daughter, Mahfar Lalehzari, who is under two years old. She had been granted temporary leave from Evin Prison last September to give birth.

Ahmadkhanbeigi and her husband, Behfar Lalehzari, were initially sentenced to a combined 10 years in prison over charges including assembly and collusion against national security and propaganda against the state. Their sentences were later reduced to 21 months following a retrial, HRANA said.

The rights group reported that the couple were arrested by Iranian security forces during a raid on their home in September 2023.

The case has drawn renewed attention from rights advocates over the treatment of imprisoned activists and the presence of young children in detention settings.