Mohammad Najafi

Mohammad Najafi

Biography

Mohammad Najafi is an Iranian human rights lawyer who has been arrested and imprisoned multiple times due to his activism in support of persons persecuted by the Iranian regime.

In one example of his activism, in a May 2017 speech at a mosque in Shazand, Najafi said:

“I have one question [for the regime]. So far, who has sought to understand why this city has such a rampant drug problem, so many unemployed people, and so much poverty? Does it matter to any of them at all?... Ask them: is Iran a priority for you, or are Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon the priority? Ask them: are the people your priority, or is it the [rule of the supreme leader]? Our time is an era of masters and slaves: all for one, that one being the ultimate master; the treasure is for one, while all others suffer… You have kept us hungry to buy our votes with rice and oil. Is this Islamic justice?... In a state where the highest authority must be the most responsive, [the supreme leader] does not respond to anyone at all… I know that some people here belong to intelligence agencies. I speak before them with full knowledge [of the consequences]... People, you must know that you are the rightful power, you must make your needs known, you must demand…”

Arrests and Trials

The authorities first arrested Najafi in 2009 and charged him with “insulting the president,” “propaganda against the regime,” and “possession of satellite TV equipment.” He was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, fined, and barred from working as a lawyer for six months.

In 2012, Najafi was arrested again for his political activities—including his involvement in a sit-in at the building of the Central Bar Association in support of human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh—and online publications.  He was acquitted of all charges.

In 2016, Najafi was arrested, jailed, and charged with “slander with intent to disturb the public mind” after giving a speech critical of the regime” and later with “disturbing the public mind.” He was released on bail soon thereafter.

In 2017, Najafi was charged by the Shazand Judiciary with “propaganda against the regime” for his social-media posts and released on bail.

In January 2018, Najafi was arrested and jailed again, this time for his investigation of the death in police custody of Vahid Heydari. The authorities had arrested Heydari for his involvement in protests against the regime during the winter of 2017–18. The regime claimed that Heydari was a drug addict and had died by suicide. Najafi conducted interviews and research in Heydari’s hometown and determined that Heydari was not a drug user and did not die by suicide. Najafi and four others were charged with “taking part in protests, disrupting public order, disturbing public opinion, publishing falsehoods… [and] organizing and membership in groups conspiring against the state.”

Najafi was released on bail in April 2018.  In July of that year, he was convicted of “disturbing public order through sensationalism, controversy, and disorderly conduct such as sloganeering” and “slander with intent to disturb the public mind” and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment prison and 74 lashes.

In October 2018, while still out on bail pending appeal of his sentence, Najafi was arrested and jailed again. Najafi was then convicted in quick succession by several different courts of multiple pending charges. He was sentenced to one year in prison for “disseminating lies in cyberspace through computers and telecommunication services with intent to disturb the public mind”; one year for “propagandizing for opposition groups and organizations”; two years for “insulting the Supreme Leader with ‘down with the dictator’ slogans”; ten years for “cooperation with hostile governments through media interviews”; and two years’ in prison and a 40 million rial fine for “disturbing the public mind.”

In March 2019, Najafi was released and received a pardon for his three-year sentence for “disturbing public order through sensationalism, controversy, and disorderly conduct such as sloganeering” and “slander with intent to disturb the public mind. However, he was arrested again four days later and incarcerated to begin serving his ten-year sentence.

In late 2019 and early 2020, Najafi was convicted of several further charges and sentenced to additional prison time, including four months for “agitating the public consciousness,” three years for “insulting the supreme leader” in a letter he wrote from prison, and six months for giving a speech at a ceremony in remembrance of Sattar Beheshti, a blogger who died in the custody of the authorities after being tortured.

In September 2022, Najafi’s ten-year prison sentence was reduced to four-and-a-half years.

In April 2023, Najafi was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in prison and a fine of 150 million rials for “disseminating lies,” and one year in prison for “propaganda against the state.” The Human Rights Activists News Agency claimed that the charges were brought after he recorded and released audio from prison in support of widespread protests against the Iranian regime. Najafi was then transferred from Arak to Tehran’s notoriously brutal Evin Prison.

Treatment in Captivity

Najafi has suffered from serious health problems during his imprisonment at Arak Central Prison, including a heart attack, other cardiac issues, and diabetes. He has repeatedly been denied medical care, medical furloughs, or transfer to a hospital outside the prison. He has gone on hunger strike several times—including one that lasted seven weeks—to protest this denial or medical care and furloughs, as well as his placement in solitary confinement. In response to his hunger strikes and the rampant spread of COVID-19 in Iranian prisons, he has received medical furloughs several times but was returned to prison thereafter on each occasion.

Activism from Prison

In addition to his hunger strikes, Najafi has engaged in other activism during his imprisonment. In September 2019, he wrote an open letter to Iran’s supreme leader which later earned Najafi a conviction and prison term. He recorded and released an audio statement in support of Iranians protesting the regime. And Najafi has repeatedly refused to appear at court proceedings in cases against him.

Persecution of Relatives

The regime has arrested Mohammad Najafi’s son, Amir Hossein Najafi, on trumped-up charges, and interrogated other relatives of Mohammad, including his sister.