Iran frees 4 conservationists who worked to save cheetahs before being convicted of espionage

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has released four conservationists who had worked to save the endangered Asiatic cheetah before they were convicted on espionage charges and spent five years in prison. The Tehran newspaper Etemad said authorities released Niloufar Bayani and Houman Jowkar on Monday night. They were part of a group of five activists sentenced in 2019. The semiofficial ILNA news agency said on Tuesday another two activists were released, Sepideh Kashani and Taher Ghadirain. They were among more than 2,000 prisoners granted amnesty on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The United Nations Environment Program welcomed the release of the conservationists, members of the nonprofit Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation.