Javad Alikordi
Javad Alikordi is an Iranian human rights defender, lawyer, university lecturer, and a former member of the Sabzevar City Council in Mashhad, Khorasan province. He is widely known for providing pro bono legal representation to political prisoners and families seeking justice for relatives killed as a result of state violence.
The human rights defender has faced systematic judicial harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, in reprisal for his peaceful and legitimate human rights work since 2009. That year, security forces shot him while he participated in a peaceful protest contesting the presidential election results in Iran. On 1 March 2025, the defender was arrested at his office in Mashhad and transferred to Vakilabad Prison to serve a custodial sentence for ‘propaganda against the state.’ Although he was released on 11 August 2025, under electronic ankle-tag surveillance, the defender was rearrested on 12 December 2025 whilst attending his brother’s memorial service. His late brother, Khosrow Alikordi, also a renowned human rights lawyer, was found dead “under suspicious circumstances” on 5 December 2025.
Human rights defenders and journalists in Iran are arrested, detained and prosecuted in unfair trials. HRDs continue to receive death threats and are subjected to harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention. They are refused bail or receive extreme bail conditions. HRDs are additionally subjected to systematic surveillance and their family members are targeted. Journalists have been subjected to flogging for criticising the government.
