German-Iranian woman Nahid Taghavi has returned to Germany after spending four years in an Iranian jail for rights activism, her family said Monday.
Taghavi, 70, landed back in Germany on Sunday, human rights group Amnesty International said.
"My mother is finally home," Taghavi's daughter Mariam Claren said in a statement shared by the group.
Taghavi, a long-time activist who campaigned for women's rights and freedom of expression, was arrested in Tehran in October 2020.
In August 2021, she was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison for participating in an outlawed group.
Taghavi's health "deteriorated considerably" while she was being held in Tehran's Evin prison, known for holding political prisoners, Amnesty said.
In all, the rights activist spent a total of seven months in solitary confinement, during which she was forced to sleep on the floor, the group said.
Taghavi was given medical leave on three occasions during her imprisonment, Amnesty said.
"Words cannot describe our joy," Claren said on her mother's release.
"At the same time, we mourn the four years that were stolen from us and the horror she had to endure in Evin prison," she said.
Taghavi was one of a group of Western passport-holders detained in Iran as part of what rights groups describe as a deliberate policy of hostage-taking by Tehran to extract concessions.
Iranian state media last year announced the execution of German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd, who spent several years behind bars in the country.
Officials in Tehran later said Sharmahd, who had been sentenced to death, had died before his execution could be carried out.
The death of Sharmahd sparked a serious diplomatic dispute between Tehran and Berlin, with Germany recalling its ambassador and closing three consulates in the country.