Iran denies Ganji back in solitary confinement

TEHRAN: Iran's judiciary denied on Tuesday that dissident journalist Akbar Ganji was transferred to solitary after being discharged from hospital following his two-month-long hunger strike.

The maverick writer, jailed in 2000 after writing a series of articles linking senior officials to the killing of political dissidents, was taken to hospital in July when his health deteriorated due to a hunger strike aimed at pressuring officials to free him.

Ganji ended his hunger strike last month following promises from judiciary officials that he would be allowed to go home.

Massoumeh Shafii, Ganji's wife, said on Sunday that Ganji had been sent back to solitary confinement instead. Iran's Justice Minister Jamal Karimirad told journalists on Tuesday: “Ganji has been returned to prison and he is in a shared cell...His health condition is very good.”

Shafii said she had written to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan calling on him to intervene to secure her husband's release. reuters

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