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Bahari still in Iran, unclear whether he can leave the country

Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari was at his mother’s home in Tehran on Sunday after being released on bail from prison, but his family said it’s unclear whether the Newsweek reporter will be permitted to return home to his pregnant and ailing wife, scheduled to deliver in just over a week.

TORONTO — Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari was at his mother’s home in Tehran on Sunday after being released on bail from prison, but his family said it’s unclear whether the Newsweek reporter will be permitted to return home to his pregnant and ailing wife, scheduled to deliver in just over a week.

Agah Bahari, Maziar’s 26-year-old nephew, said in a phone interview from his home in Vancouver that his family is cautiously optimistic about his uncle’s return.

Maziar Bahari, 42, was freed from Tehran’s Evin Prison after posting a bail of about $300,000 on Saturday.

A dual Iranian-Canadian citizen, he was arrested June 21 as part of the government’s attempts to silence protests over the disputed election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Agah Bahari said he spoke with his mother in Tehran on Saturday and she told him that Bahari was there at his mother’s home in Tehran and appeared to be doing well.

“He’s fine,” Bahari said. “But after 140 days in jail in Tehran, you’re not going to be totally fine.”

Bahari said his uncle was filling out paper work related to his release. He was reluctant to discuss further conditions of his uncle’s release because his fate is still unclear and he didn’t want to jeopardize a still tenuous reprieve.

“I can’t talk about all the things right now because they’re not secure, all we know is he was bailed out, he’s out of jail.”