Yousef Farhadi Babadi

Age: 44
Activism/rights: Environmental activists
Status: Released
Judicial Status: Subject to an open case
Violations: Arbitrary arrest; denial of fair trial and due process

Yousef Farhadi Babadi is an environmental activist from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province who is an opponent of water transfer projects — including the transfer of water from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari to Isfahan — a member of the grassroots campaign “Support Kind Zagros” and administrator of the Telegram channel “Sedaye Paye Ab” (“The Sound of Water’s Footsteps”). He has been repeatedly summoned and arrested due to his criticism of water transfer projects. In May 2018, following a complaint filed by members of Isfahan’s parliamentary delegation regarding critical content published on the “Sedaye Paye Ab” channel about water transfers, he was summoned and arrested. After 9 days in detention, he was temporarily released on bail on 8 May.

He was rearrested on 17 February of the same year, when intelligence agents in Shahrekord stopped his car after a chase operation and abducted him and his brother. Behind bars, security forces threatened him with death, and according to reports published by the “Sedaye Paye Ab” Telegram channel, the main reason for these actions was his exposés on Karun water transfer projects and what he described as the “water mafia.” He also stated that he had been pressured in prison to make forced confessions. He was again released on bail on 18 March 2019.

Following further legal proceedings against Yousef, Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced him in July 2024 to one year’s imprisonment on charges of “propaganda activities against the regime” and an additional one year’s imprisonment and a fine on charges of “spreading falsehoods.” Yousef's sentence was upheld and he was summoned in October 2024 to serve the sentence. On 6 November of the same year, Yousef announced that he had surrendered to begin serving the sentence, and around one month later, he was released on licence.

In December 2024, Yousef was summoned to Branch 1 of the Lordegan Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province in relation to complaints concerning his disclosures about water transfer projects in the Zagros basin. The case is ongoing.