Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 9 November 2026: Twenty-eight days after being arrested whilst representing a client in court, human rights lawyer Amirsalar Davoudi was transferred to hospital after suffering a mild heart attack in custody. He has been held incommunicado in solitary confinement and under intense pressure since his arrest on 11 October.
IHRNGO calls for Amirsalar Davoudi’s immediate release and access to adequate medical treatment.
IHRNGO Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “Amirsalar Davoudi was in good health when he was arrested. Twenty-eight days later, he was hospitalised following a heart attack. The Islamic Republic authorities bear full responsibility for his life and safety. He must be released immediately and receive the medical care he requires.” He added: “We call on the EU and all governments maintaining diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic to intervene urgently to secure Mr Davoudi’s release. Iranian and international bar associations must raise their voices today for a colleague who has been silenced while defending the rights of others.”
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Amirsalar Davoudi was transferred to Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan after suffering a mild heart attack on 8 November 2026. The 45-year-old human rights lawyer has been held incommunicado since his arrest twenty eight days ago.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Last night, Amirsalar was taken to hospital under strict security measures despite being unconscious. Authorities allegedly cited a change in Amirsalar’s medication for his deteriorating health and the hospital transfer, even though he wasn’t taking any medication at the time of his arrest.”
“He was discharged from the hospital this morning and taken to court for arraignment. However, the arraignment was allegedly postponed due to the investigations being incomplete, and he was returned to prison,” the source added.
On 11 October, Amirsalar Davoudi was arrested by security forces after attending the Isfahan Revolutionary Court to represent Mahshad Keshani, an imprisoned protester and the partner of recently executed protester Alireza Sepahi. Amirsalar also represented Alireza who was executed along with Alireza Raisi on 5 October.
While threatening to bring trumped-up charges under Article 4 of the new Espionage Bill, Isfahan’s head of judiciary stated that Amirsalar was charged with “publishing falsehoods online to disturb public opinion, inciting people to kill one another with the intention of disrupting national security and propaganda against the system.”
Despite an explicit order issued by the prosecutor granting him contact with his family, enforcement officers continued to hold him incommunicado and deny him all phone calls and visits. Furthermore, the state-approved lawyer in the case has been barred from accessing his case file while authorities subject him to intense pressure to extract forced confessions.
Amirsalar Davoudi is the 2022 Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Award. In November 2018, he was arrested in relation to his Telegram channel “Without Retouch,” where he criticised procedural flaws, the judicial harassment of lawyers and human rights violations. Originally sentenced to 30 years imprisonment and 111 lashes by “Death Judge” Salavati, his case has since undergone prolonged appeals and repeated cycles of detention. On 2 September 2024, Amirsalar was granted a three-day furlough, and the enforcement of his sentence was suspended after an Article 474 appeal was granted.