An award-winning Iranian journalist was due to return to prison on Tuesday after being allowed three months' leave because of illness, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported quoting his lawyer.
The return to jail of Emadeddin Baghi, who heads a prisoners' rights group and has openly campaigned against the death penalty in Iran, came just a week after he was awarded a major journalism prize in Britain.
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Baghi was hospitalised in December with a nervous condition after being arrested in October 2007 on charges of spreading propaganda against Iran's Islamic system and publishing secret documents.
"He is going back to prison today although his illness is not completely cured," lawyer Saleh Nikbakht told AFP on Tuesday. "The doctors have not been able to make an accurate diagnosis of his cardiac and nervous condition which was the result of prison," he said. Baghi still has five months of his jail term to serve.
Prisoners in Iran are sometimes allowed to serve parts of their sentences at home if it can be proven that they have serious health problems. According to the charges, Baghi obtained secret information from prisoners detained in security prisons and then disseminated this information during seminars organised by his group, the lawyer said.
On April 8, Baghi was awarded the international journalist of the year prize at the British Press Awards in recognition of his attempts to overcome obstacles and supply news to readers. He was not present at the ceremony. In 2005, Baghi was also awarded a French human rights prize for his work in campaigning against the death penalty.
