New York, March, SPA -- Akbar Ganji, an Iranian journalist, was released from prison today north of Tehran after serving a six-year sentence, prompting United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to wish him good health. Ganji, a writer for two pro-reform daily newspapers and editor of a third, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he attended a conference in Berlin on Iranian reform that Iranian authorities deemed "anti-Islamic." He was sentenced for writing propaganda against the Iranian republic and "insulting the regime's sacred values". "In August 2005, the Secretary-General appealed to the Iranian authorities to grant Mr. Ganji's release on humanitarian grounds following a prolonged hunger strike," said U.N. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric. The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders spoke briefly with Ganji today. He said he was "relieved" to be out of prison, but "physically very debilitated." He weighs about 100 lbs and will have to have surgery soon to relieve pains in his back and knees.--SPA 13 35 Local Time 10 35 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/347274