While Front Line welcomes the announcement that human rights defender and winner of the Martin Ennals Award 2009, Emadeddin Baghi has been released from prison the organisation remains concerned that he has been released on a bail of 200,000,000 million Iranian Tomans - the equivalent of $200,000.

Further Information

In recent years, Emadeddin Baghi has been repeatedly subjected to harassment. On July 31 2007, he was condemned by the Tehran Revolutionary Court to three years in prison for “activities against national security” and “publicity in favour of the regime's opponents”.

These charges followed an article he had written in which he called for the defence of persons who were sentenced to death in the southern Khozestan region. He was previously detained from 2000-2003 in relation to articles he had written against the death penalty.

In November 2009 he was prevented from leaving Iran to travel to Geneva, Switzerland, where he was due to receive the prestigious Martin Ennals Award (MEA) on 2 November Emadeddin Baghi was prevented from getting his passport without any explanation on the part of the authorities.

He become the first laureate in the 18-year history of the MEA not be allowed to receive his prize in person. Emadeddin Baghi founded the Society for the Defense of Prisoners' Rights, and has been a vigorous and outspoken opponent of the death penalty in Iran.