In Brief Homa Hoodfar, a professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, was detained in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison on June 6, 2016. She was released on September 26, 2016. Case History Hoodfar, who is Iranian-Canadian and was 65 years old at the time of her detention, suffers from a rare neurological disease that causes severe muscle weakness. She was hospitalized at one point before being returned to her cell, according to her family. She was detained by authoriti

In Brief Bahareh Hedayat, a student activist and women’s rights defender, was arrested on December 31, 2009. After nearly seven years in Evin prison, Hedayat was released in September 2016. Case History At the turn of the new year, Hedayat, an active campaigner for women’s rights, was sentenced and charged for two years for “insulting the Supreme Leader,” six months for “insulting the President,” and five years for “acting against national security and publishing falsehoods.”

In Brief Status: Released In October 2019, Iranian authorities have released Hamid Babaei, 36, a PhD student at the University of Liege in Belgium, who was detained in August 2013 shortly after his return to Tehran and sentenced to six years in prison on charges of “communicating with hostile foreign governments and spying.” Throughout his incarceration, Babaei stated repeatedly that he was imprisoned for refusing to operate as an informant in Belgium for Iran’s Intelligenc

In Brief In June 2013 sociologist and political activist Saeed Madani was sentenced to six years in prison and ten years in exile on charges of “propaganda against the state” and “acting against national security.” Mandani been held without charge since January 7, 2012. Case History Security forces arrested Saeed Madani in 2012 for his political activism and membership in the now-banned Nationalist-Religious Alliance political opposition group. Following Madani's arrest, he s