Mehdi Mahmoudian (born 1978) is an Iranian political prisoner and reformist activist and a member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Association for the Defense of Prisoners' Rights of the Iranian reformist party.
Mehdi Mahmoudian was active in the Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Unity Party for 15 years, eventually separating from both parties on May 1, 2020. [1] He is an activist for human rights in Iran and a member of the Association for the Defense of Prisoners' Rights. [2]
Mahmoudian wrote a letter in December 2010 to Mohammad Khatami, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroubi, urging the three leaders not to retreat from their rightful positions. In part, the letter states: "I ask you, in honor of the blood of the revolution’s martyrs from its beginning to today; in honor of the tears and suffering of the mothers, fathers, spouses, and children of the martyrs and prisoners of the Green Movement; and in honor of those tortured in Kahrizak, Ward 209, 2-A, and other known and hidden prisons and detention centers, to continue — as you have until now — to defend the freedom-seeking and justice-seeking goals of the God-fearing people of Iran, and never abandon your rightful and principled positions at any cost." [3]
The first session of Mehdi Mahmoudian's trial was held on Wednesday, March 2, 2011. [4] On May 16, he was sentenced to 5 years of punitive imprisonment for conspiracy against the system in a primary court hearing, without his lawyer being present. [5] [6] [7]
Mehdi Mahmoudian appeared at the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office on December 10, 2019, and was arrested due to his inability to provide the 500 million rial bail. He was then transferred to Ward 2-A of the Revolutionary Guards. [8] [9] He was released on January 1, 2020. [10]
Following his trial on August 23, 2020, he was sentenced to a total of 5 years in prison. Mehdi Mahmoudian received a one-year sentence for signing the statement of 77 people and a four-year sentence for "conspiracy and assembly with the intent to disturb national security." [11] His lawyer wrote in a statement: "Four years for calling for a candlelight vigil in memory of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash, and one year for signing the statement known as the 77-person statement." [12]
In September 2020, he was put in prison and was finally released on December 10, 2020, after posting bail. [13]
On August 14, 2021, Mehdi Mahmoudian was arrested along with others who sought to file a complaint regarding the failure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Iran. [14] This effort later became part of the "Health Plaintiffs" case. [15] According to his lawyer, the charges against him and his companions included "forming and managing an anti-regime group, engaging in anti-regime propaganda, and disturbing public order." [16] After this arrest, his previous sentence was enforced, and he was required to serve 5 years in prison. [12]
He was released from Evin Prison on January 3, 2024, after serving thirty months. [17]
On January 28, 2026, Mahmoudian, along with several other Iranian intellectuals, including Amirsalar Davoudi, Hatam Ghaderi, Abolfazl Ghadyani, Abdollah Momeni, Mohammad Najafi, Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof, Nasrin Sotoudeh, and Sedigheh Vasmaghi, and the Narges Mohammadi Human Rights Foundation, published a statement on Instagram asserting that the killings were a crime against humanity. The statement attributed principal responsibility to Khamenei. [18]
Mahmoudian and two other signatories, Abdollah Momeni and Vida Rabbani, were arrested on January 31. [19] [20]
Iranian political activist Abdolreza Davari tweeted about Mahmoudian: "Unfortunately, Mehdi Mahmoudian reduced the opportunity for medical leave from prison to a casual meeting with regime apologists, hosting advisors and the daughters of Mir-Hossein at his home, to lay the groundwork for holding a conference on the regime’s downfall, guided by Amir Arjmand and the French service, with Mousavi’s statements in Paris at the center." Later, in an interview with Ensaf News, Davari clarified that his tweet was meant with goodwill and said: "Before the New Year, when Mr. Mahmoudian was in prison, during a search in his room at Evin Prison, they found a mobile phone." [21]
However, Mohammad Tavakoli, a journalist at Ensaf News, believes Davari’s claims are baseless and accusatory. [22]