Vida Rabbani

Age: 36
Activism/rights: Journalist
Status: Released on bail
Judicial status: 2-year suspended sentence
Violations: Arbitrary arrest and detention; lack of a fair trial and due process; denial of access to a lawyer; denial of medical care; solitary confinement

Vida Rabbani is a journalist and member of the Journalists’ Trade Association, and has published articles in newspapers such as Shargh and the weekly Seda. She is among the human rights defenders who has protested against the death penalty from behind bars. Vida has been arrested multiple times since January 2020, when she was detained while reporting on public protests over the IRGC shooting down flight PS752 with missiles, causing the death of 176 passengers and crew. In August 2022, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment on the charge of “insulting the sanctities”, four years’ imprisonment for “assembly and collusion with intent to commit crimes against national security”, eight months’ imprisonment for “propaganda against the system”, and eight months’ imprisonment and 74 lashes for “disrupting public order”. The court suspended two fifths of the enforceable sentence. Vida was rearrested on 24 September 2022 during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests and transferred to Evin Prison. In January 2023, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, sentenced her to seven years’ imprisonment on the charge of “assembly and collusion with intent to commit crimes against national security” and 15 months’ imprisonment for “propaganda against the system”. Participation in a gathering outside Kasra Hospital—where Jina (Mahsa) Amini had been hospitalised after being beaten by morality police officers—and participation in protests against compulsory hijab were cited as grounds for the charges. Her sentence was upheld on appeal but was later included in the general amnesties. 

Vida went on hunger strike after being denied adequate medical care and medical treatment outside prison. She was ultimately transferred to a hospital in April 2023 due to the deterioration of her physical condition. In June 2023, she published an open letter accusing Mizan News Agency, the Islamic Republic judiciary's news agency, of disclosing her private medical information. She wrote that the authorities use mental and psychological illness as a stigma to “discredit” political and civil activists. The state media outlet had claimed that the reason for her transfer not being approved was her prior use of psychiatric medication. In her letter, she also exposed the widespread and unregulated distribution of psychiatric and sedative medications among detainees during the protests.

On 8 April 2025, Vida Rabani was released from Evin Prison on bail, despite having approximately four months remaining of her sentence, while two years of her imprisonment had been suspended for a period of five years. Following the crackdown on the December 2025–January 2026 protests, she was among the signatories of a statement holding the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic responsible for the killing of protesters and calling for the prosecution of those responsible and an end to the government. Following the publication of the statement, she was arrested on 31 January 2026 and transferred to Tonekabon Central Prison. Vida was beaten both in the detention centre of the Criminal Investigation Department in Sari and later in prison; bruises were reportedly observed on her body. She was also subjected to violence for not complying with compulsory hijab rules, including having her hair pulled out. Vida began a hunger strike on 6 February 2026 in protest against being held in a prison outside her home city. She was released on bail from Tonekabon Prison 17 February 2026.