Iran frees Rafsanjani daughter after two years

TEHRAN: The daughter of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was released on Wednesday after two years behind bars in Tehran’s Evin prison, media outlets in the Islamic republic reported.

Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, 61, was arrested in September 2022 for allegedly inciting people to get involved in protests sparked by the death that month of Mahsa Amini, after her detention for an alleged breach of Iran’s strict dress code for women.

The women’s rights activist and former parliamentarian was released from the prison in Tehran following an appeal court ruling, her lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghassi was cited as saying by the Hammihan newspaper.

Hashemi, previously convicted in 2012 for propaganda against the Islamic republic, had been sentenced to five years in jail in the wake of the 2022 protests.

Her father served as Iran’s president from 1989 to 1997 and was known for advocating better relations with the West.