Kianoush Cheraghi, a political prisoner, has been released from Darreh Shahr Prison after the suspension of his remaining prison sentence.
According to Kolbarnews, a delegation from the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office recently visited Darreh Shahr Prison. During the visit, Cheraghi protested the violation of his basic rights during the legal process. The delegation ordered a review of his case, which ultimately led to a judicial decision to suspend the remainder of his sentence, resulting in his release.
Previously, Cheraghi had been released from Ilam Prison under electronic monitoring but was ordered back to prison by Branch 6 of the Ilam Appeals Court on January 28, 2025 (8th Bahman 1403), which revoked his electronic monitoring.
Following the order, security agents violently arrested him at his home in Dehloran and transferred him to Ilam Prison. In protest of his re-arrest, Cheraghi went on hunger strike and was hospitalized after nine days due to poor health. He ended his strike following promises from officials, but instead of being released, he was transferred to Darreh Shahr Prison, which prompted another hunger strike.
Cheraghi had initially been arrested in April 2024 to begin serving his prison sentence, handed down by Branch 101 of the Dehloran Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Hossein Panahi. He was sentenced to two years in prison for “spreading falsehoods to disturb public opinion via online platforms” and ordered to write a 200-page paper on ten martyrs of the Iran-Iraq war, to be approved by the Ilam Province Foundation for the Preservation of Sacred Defense Works.
In another case, he was also sentenced in October 2024 by Branch 2 of the Ilam Revolutionary Court in Dehloran, led by Judge Seyed Reza Salahoddini, to one year in prison for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” with time served counted toward the sentence.
Cheraghi, 45, a former employee of the Social Security Office in Dehloran, had been arrested multiple times in 2023 and 2024 by security forces in Dehloran before receiving his final sentences.
