An Iranian poet, who was detained on Friday on arrival back in Tehran, has been released on bail after being informed she had been convicted and sentenced in absentia on charges related to her cultural activities, a relative said Sunday.
Hila Sedighi was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport as she returned from the United Arab Emirates where she has been living with her husband for the last three years.
Her arrest was the latest in a series of arrests of artists, journalists and U.S. citizens as part of a crackdown on what authorities have called a Western “infiltration”.
The clampdown follows a nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers in July, that hardliners fear may open Iranian society to what they see as corrupting Western influences.
The relative, who asked not to be identified, said Hila visited Iran regularly and was shocked to hear she had been sentenced in absentia. Read More