Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, nicknamed Iran's "Blogfather” over his efforts to popularize blogging in Iran, has been released after spending six years in prison.
Derakhshan was serving a nineteen and-a-half year prison sentence over charges that include spreading propaganda against the Iranian establishment and working with a hostile government, according to Iranian media.
Writing on social media, Derakhshan said he has been released after being pardoned by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The reason for the decision to release him was not clear.
Derakhshan is considered a highly controversial figure. In recent years he has become a supporter of the Iranian establishment.
The French watchdog Reporters Without Borders says Iran is one of the world's biggest jails for journalists and bloggers.
