Jailed Iranian Activist Ends Hunger Strike After Wife's Release

Iran-- Arash Sadeghi and Golrokh Iraee

A jailed Iranian activist has ended his hunger strike following his wife's release from jail.

Arash Sadeghi had reportedly refused to eat since October 24 to protest the arrest of his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi.

Ebrahimi, a writer and human rights activist, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda on January 3 that she had been temporarily released from prison on bail.

Ebrahimi was arrested in October for writing an unpublished story about the practice of stoning in Iran.

She was later convicted of "insulting Islamic sanctities" in a trial that Amnesty International called "grossly unfair."

Ebrahimi said she had been able to briefly meet with her husband who, she said, was in poor condition after refusing to eat for more than two months.

Sadeghi's hunger strike had led to several online protests by his supporters, who had expressed concerns about his health.

On January 2, dozens of Iranians marched outside of Tehran's Evin prison to call for the couple's release.

Sadeghi, a philosophy student, is serving a 15-year prison sentence for "collusion against national security," "propaganda against the state," "spreading lies in cyberspace," and "insulting the founder of the Islamic republic [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini]."