Seyed Mehdi Karimi Farsi
Seyed Mehdi Karimi Farsi is an Iranian human rights defender, lawyer, former prisoner of war, and member of the Iran Central Bar Association. In his capacity as a lawyer, he has defended the rights of clients in emblematic cases involving prisoners on death row in the Khozestan province. In addition, the defender has avidly supported the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protest movement (2022–2023) through peaceful means, including public advocacy and social media. As a result of his support, authorities in Iran charged him with ‘propaganda activity against state’ and sentenced him to a prison term of one year in October 2024.
The human rights defender is widely renowned for staging a peaceful protest march through Tehran in August 2023, calling for the independence of the Iran Central Bar Association. This sparked broad discussion around the independence of lawyers in Iran and bolstered solidarity within the legal community nationwide.
Human rights defenders and journalists 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.
