Ahmadreza Haeri
Age: 44
Activism/rights: Civil and human rights activist, opponent of the death penalty
Status: Free
Judicial status: —
Violations: Arbitrary arrest and detention, denial of due process and a fair trial, failure to separate prisoners according to offense categories, denial of access to legal counsel, denial of medical care, confiscation of property and freezing of bank accounts, enforced disappearance for several days, denial of prison leave
Ahmadreza Haeri is a civil activist and an active member of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign. Due to his disclosures regarding human rights violations in Iranian prisons, the situation of prisoners, and his open letters from prison, he has faced multiple cases and prison sentences by security and judicial authorities.
In 2014, he was arrested after participating in a protest gathering in front of the Presidential Office in protest against the physical assault of political prisoners in Ward 350 of Evin Prison and was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months’ imprisonment on charges of “assembly and collusion with intent to commit crimes against national security”. This sentence was later reduced on appeal to 6 months’ imprisonment and 74 lashes.
After the flogging sentence was carried out, he was transferred on 25 July 2020 to Evin Prison to serve his prison sentence and was subsequently transferred to Greater Tehran Prison. He was conditionally released in October 2020.
In 2021, a new case was opened against him due to his disclosures about human rights violations in Iranian prisons. Haeri was re-arrested on 27 June 2022 and transferred to Ward 2-A of Evin Prison. This civil activist was released on bail in August of the same year, but Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced him to 3 years and 8 months’ imprisonment on charges of “assembly and collusion with intent to commit crimes against national security” and to 8 months’ imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the system”.
Haeri was transferred to Evin Prison on 10 May 2023 to serve his sentence.²⁰² One month later, following his disclosures about the deaths of Sasan Niknafs and Amirhossein Hatami, prisoners held in Greater Tehran Prison, he was sentenced in absentia to 3 months and 1 day’s imprisonment on charges of “spreading falsehoods”.
Ahmadreza Haeri was imprisoned from May 2023 to serve his sentence, while prior to that, security authorities had threatened the bail provider with confiscation of the bail, and his own bank accounts had been frozen and his personal vehicle seized.
In July of the same year, due to his disclosures about torture and detailing the mock execution of Saman Seydi, a protest singer sentenced to death, he was sentenced in absentia to an additional 3 months and 1 day’s imprisonment on charges of “spreading falsehoods”, and in September he was exiled to Ghezel Hesar Prison.
In November 2024, Haeri announced that his prison sentence, which had been secretly and unlawfully withheld for one year by the Revolutionary Court and the Security Prosecutor’s Office, had been increased to 6 years and 3 months.
Ahmadreza Haeri’s request for retrial was accepted in September 2025 by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court. In recent months, due to his protest against the execution of Babak Shahbazi and his criticism of the government, he has been repeatedly summoned to the Karaj Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office for interrogation sessions. At the same time, Haeri stated that in recent months he had twice been included among those eligible under a directive for sentence reduction, but on each occasion his release was prevented through the direct intervention of security agencies.
On 30 March 2026, Ahmadreza Haeri was transferred from Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj to an undisclosed location and was subsequently subjected to enforced disappearance.
On May 19, 2026, Ahmadreza Haeri was tried via videoconference in a new case on charges of “propaganda against the state” over his opposition to the death penalty and participation in the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign.
On September 8, 2026, Haeri was released from Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj after serving more than three years in prison. His lawyer, Ramin Safarnia, confirmed his release.
On October 8, 2026, Haeri was named the Middle East and North Africa recipient of the 2026 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk in recognition of his defense of prisoners’ rights and opposition to the death penalty. He was unable to attend the award ceremony in Dublin due to security concerns.
On October 10, 2026, in an interview following his release, Haeri dedicated the award to his fellow prisoners at Ghezel Hesar Prison and reaffirmed his commitment to the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign.