Iranian activist and journalist Keyvan Samimi, who has been imprisoned since December 2020, is still in custody, his family told AFP on Monday, denying his release announced by local media the day before.
On Sunday, the reformist daily Shargh reported on the release of the 73-year-old journalist, who was sentenced to three years in prison for “conspiracy against national security”.
His family told AFP on Monday that Mr Samimi has not been released and is serving his sentence in Semnan prison, more than 200 km east of Tehran.
The journalist was authorized to return home in February 2022 due to health problems.
However, he was returned to prison in May after being accused of anti-national security activities during his provisional release, the Mehr news agency at the time reported.
In December, he had released from prison a message of support for the protest movement in Iran, sparked after the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died after being arrested by vice police for assaulting the dress code the Strict Islamic Republic.
Mr. Samimi was imprisoned several times before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
On Sunday, the Shargh newspaper announced the arrest of one of its journalists, Milad Alavi, after being summoned by the courts in the morning.
In December, the newspaper published a list of almost 40 journalists and photojournalists arrested in Iran in connection with the protest.