Anisha Asadollahi
Age: 36
Activism/rights: Workers' rights activist
Status: Imprisoned in Evin Prison
Judicial status: 3 years and 7 months’ imprisonment
Violations: Arbitrary arrest; denial of fair trial and due process; solitary confinement; denial of access to lawyer
Anisha (Maryam) Asadollahi is a workers' rights activist, teacher, translator and writer who was first arrested on 1 May 2019 during a workers’ gathering outside the Islamic Consultative Assembly marking International Workers’ Day. She was transferred to Qarchak Prison and later temporarily released on bail. Following her rearrest on 18 June of the same year, she was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison and, after a prolonged period in solitary confinement and interrogations, was again released on bail. In autumn 2019, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Anisha to one year’s imprisonment and 74 lashes on charges of “disrupting public order,” while 6 months of the prison sentence was suspended. Under the ruling, 3 months of her discretionary prison sentence were also converted into alternative punishments, including unpaid service for war veterans and copying several books selected by the court. After being summoned and appearing at the prosecutor’s office on 4 January, she was transferred to Evin Prison to serve her sentence and with the time served, was released on 21 January of the same year. On 9 May 2022, security forces once again arrested her and her husband, Keyvan Mehtadi, and transferred them to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. The Ministry of Intelligence accused the workers' activist couple of “cooperation with a foreign team” and claimed that they intended to establish an “anti-security cell” with two French citizens, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who had allegedly travelled to Iran for “espionage and creating unrest.” This was despite the fact that, according to their lawyer, there was no documented legal evidence proving the French citizens were spies, and that Anisha and Keyvan had merely acted as translators during meetings of labour and teachers’ rights activists. Asadollahi was temporarily released from Evin Prison on bail on 20 August of the same year.
On 29 April 2023, on the eve of International Workers’ Day, Anisha and several other workers' rights activists were arrested during a violent raid by security forces on the home of Mohammad Habibi (see page 59). She was released from Evin Prison on bail 11 days later. On 15 May 2023, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, sentenced Anisha to 5 years’ imprisonment on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and 8 months’ imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the regime.” One of her Instagram stories protesting the executions of Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard had been cited as evidence of “propaganda against the regime.” In July 2023, the Tehran Province Court of Appeal upheld the verdict in full, and one month later she was transferred to Evin Prison to serve her sentence. After being granted an appeal by the Supreme Court in June 2024, Anisha's sentence was reduced to 3 years and 7 months’ imprisonment at retrial.
Following Israel’s attack on Evin Prison in July 2025, Anisha was transferred to Qarchak Prison and she was returned to Evin Prison on 9 October. She was denied furlough throughout her imprisonment and was ultimately released from Evin Prison on 20 February 2026 after completing her sentence.