Sayeh Seydal

Age: 47
Activism/rights: Civil activist
Status: Conditionally released
Judicial status: 5-year ban on leaving the country, engaging in media activities, and online activities.
Violations: Arbitrary arrest and detention; lack of a fair trial and due process; prolonged solitary confinement; denial of medical care; deprivation of employment; torture and ill-treatment; familial punishment

Mahvash (Sayeh) Seydal, a civil activist with a PhD in international law, has been active on Clubhouse and social media, where she has openly criticised the policies of officials of the Islamic Republic and opposed mandatory hijab and the issuance of death sentences. She has also supported families seeking justice and the families of those killed during protests. Sayeh was dismissed from her position at the Tehran Municipality due to her activities and support for the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. She was arrested on 21 June 2023 and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. She was released on bail on 23 July 2023. In October 2023, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, sentenced Sayeh to one year’s imprisonment on charges of “spreading falsehoods”, along with a monetary fine, a five-year ban on the use of social media, and a ban on leaving the country. Although this sentence had been suspended for a period of five years, she was arrested on 7 October 2024 after appearing before the Evin Prosecutor’s Office, without being formally informed of the charges, and was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison. Her suspended sentence was converted into an enforceable custodial sentence. Two months later, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced her to two years’ imprisonment and a monetary fine on charges of “spreading falsehoods”, “propaganda against the system”, and appearing without the mandatory hijab. Posts published on social media concerning the poisoning of school children, support for families seeking justice, and participation in “No Death Penalty” campaigns were cited as grounds for these charges.

On 3 February 2025, after returning from medical furlough, Sayeh refused to wear a chador and was beaten and insulted by a security officer at Branch 1 of the Enforcement of Sentences Office of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office. One month later, in a new case at the Evin Prosecutor’s Office, Sayeh was formally charged with “destruction of property” and “disturbing public order”.

On 20 May 2025, she published an open letter from prison titled "The Right to Health, a Victim of the Politics of Repression", addressed to international bodies. Subsequently, on 25 May 2025, she began a hunger strike and refused medication in protest against the denial of medical care to prisoners. After 16 days, she ended her strike following the agreement of the director of Evin Prison to address her demands.

During the 12-day war between the Islamic Republic and Israel and the United States, on 17 June 2025, she published an open letter from Evin Prison protesting against the "warmongering" policies of the Islamic Republic, its failure to uphold its international obligations, and the neglect of prison conditions, and called for the release of political prisoners during wartime.

Following the Israeli attack on Evin Prison, Seydal was transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin. In an audio message from prison, referring to the catastrophic conditions in Qarchak Prison, she stated that the Islamic Republic had deliberately transferred political prisoners there in order to expose them to death. In an image published when she left Qarchak Prison for a one-week medical furlough in August 2025, the phrase "Qarchak Torture Facility" was written on her hand.

Fatemeh Seydal, Sayeh's sister, was dismissed from the North Drilling Company after publishing the audio file in support of her sister.

Having been on prison leave since January 2026, this civil activist was conditionally released on 4 April 2026. After serving one and a half years of her two-year prison sentence, she is now free but remains subject to a travel ban and a prohibition on media and online activities.