Khazali, a critical blogger, was sentenced in February 2012 to 14 years in prison, 10 years in exile, and 90 lashes after being convicted of “insulting the supreme leader,” according to human rights groups. Authorities summoned Khazali to Evin Prison in October to begin serving the sentence, reformist news websites said.
He was initially arrested in January 2012. His wife told the reformist news website Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz that he was beaten during the arrest and suffered a fractured arm, broken teeth, and a knee injury. He was held in solitary confinement in Evin for three weeks until he was transferred to the prison’s general population, news reports said. In late February, Khazali suffered a heart attack while waging a hunger strike and was taken to a Tehran hospital for treatment, according to news reports. He was issued a furlough in March.
Khazali, the son of a high-ranking cleric, had criticized the regime on his blog, which has since been hacked, CPJ research shows.