Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Released After 7 Years In Prison

Iran -- Abdolfattah Soltani, human-rights lawyer, who has jail vacation for the first time, after 52 months.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP)

Iranian media say authorities have released a prominent human rights lawyer after eight years in prison.

The semi-official ISNA news agency reported Wednesday that Abdolfattah Soltani was reunited with his family after a Revolutionary Court ruled to release him the day before.

Soltani co-founded a human rights group with Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in 2011 on charges of anti-government activities during the rule of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Under Iranian law, convicts can be granted conditional freedom after serving at least half of their prison terms.

Soltani was briefly released from prison to attend the funeral of his 30-year-old daughter Homa who died in August of a heart attack.

Iran has jailed scores of lawyers and activists on similar charges.