Khashayar Sefidi
Age: 33
Activism/rights: Student activist
Status: Released
Judicial status:
Violations: Arbitrary arrest and detention; deprivation of education; lack of a fair trial and due process; denial of medical care
Khashayar Sefidi, a Master’s student in music at the University of Art, Tehran, organised protest gatherings in the university courtyard alongside a group of students during the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests. He also published videos on Instagram in which, by playing musical pieces, he protested against the repression of citizens, commemorating Armita Geravand (a student opposed to mandatory hijab who died under suspicious circumstances in the Tehran metro) and Kian Pirfalak (a child killed during the protests). University security officials repeatedly summoned and threatened him by telephone in response to these activities. In November 2022, Khashayar was summoned to a meeting of the Student Affairs Office and accused of disrupting order at the university and dormitories. Shortly thereafter, despite being invited by the university and expressing his willingness to attend a disciplinary committee hearing, the university’s security office prevented him from attending and presenting his defence. Although university authorities declared his case closed in the same month, he was again summoned to the security office, where he was interrogated, threatened, and at times encouraged to cooperate. He was ultimately assured that there would be no obstacle to the continuation of his studies. However, in December 2022, while Khashayar was working on his thesis, he was suspended from the university for one semester by an initial ruling of the Central Disciplinary Committee of the Ministry of Science. His appeal was unsuccessful, and the initial ruling was upheld in full. During the period between the issuance of the initial ruling and the appeal decision, which lasted two academic semesters, he was effectively denied access to the university’s educational system and was unable to select courses, resulting in a deprivation of education for two semesters. Furthermore, because the university had incorrectly recorded his academic status for the first semester as “enrolled” and “normal”, his request for an extension of study was denied, and he was expelled from the university on 19 December 2023.
On 27 April 2024, Khashayar announced that he would stage a sit-in and hunger strike for three days at the Iran House of Music in protest against the death sentence issued against Toomaj Salehi. Five days later, after being summoned and appearing before the Evin Prosecutor’s Office, he was released on bail. On 3 July, he was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to one year’s imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the system”.
Following the rejection of his request for retrial on appeal, Khashayar was transferred to Evin Prison on 17 November 2024 to serve his one-year sentence.
Khashayar went on a wet hunger strike for five days from 27 January 2025 in protest against political Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani being sentenced to death. Following the Israeli attack on Evin Prison on 23 June 2025, he was transferred to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary in handcuffs and shackles. Despite a leg injury and psychological harm resulting from the bombardment, he was denied access to medical care and treatment. He was transferred back to Evin Prison in August and ultimately released on 30 September 2025 upon completion of his sentence.