An Iranian flag. (Credit: AFP)
Prominent Iranian dissident Hossein Ronaghi has been taken back to prison after receiving hospital treatment following more than 50 days on hunger strike, the judiciary said Tuesday.
“He has been discharged from hospital after being examined by doctors and has returned to prison,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website reported.
Ronaghi is one of dozens of prominent rights activists, journalists and lawyers arrested in a crackdown on protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest by the morality police, according to rights groups based outside Iran.
A Wall Street Journal contributor, Ronaghi, 37, has for years been one of the most fearless critics of the Islamic Republic still living in the country.
The hunger strike he launched after his incarceration in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison following his arrest on Sept. 24 had raised fears for his health as his family said he was suffering from a pre-existing kidney condition.
Mizan Online had reported that Monday that Ronaghi was in a “stable” condition and ready to be discharged from hospital.
His family also said his health was good after a visit by his parents on Monday.
The authorities have rejected reports that Ronaghi had been physically injured prior to hospitalization, or that his heart had stopped and he had required resuscitation on arrival.
The United States has raised concern over his case.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday that the “torture and mistreatment of political prisoners like Mr Ronaghi must cease.”