Vafa Salehi
Vafa Salehi is a human rights defender and social entrepreneur from Nahavand, Hamedan province in Iran. He has spent years engaged in grassroots social support and community empowerment alongside his wife, Afsoon Alimoradian. His work has been rooted in community solidarity and humanitarian assistance, contributing to initiatives that address social needs and uplift underprivileged groups. Like many grassroots actors in Iran, his work reflects a commitment to peaceful civic engagement and to building resilience and mutual aid structures in the face of socio-economic challenges.
Hope for political reform in Iran surfaced when President Hassan Rouhani assumed office in 2013 and dozens of opposition political figures and human rights defenders were released. However, violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and movement of HRDs continue to be prevalent.
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.
