Iranian authorities keep activist Bijan Kazemi in arbitrary detention amid intensified pressure
Hengaw – Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Political activist and former political prisoner Bijan Kazemi, from Kuhdasht in Lorestan Province, remains in prolonged arbitrary detention at Evin Prison nearly 11 months after his arrest, without formal charges, due legal process, or access to basic rights. Throughout his detention, security agencies have subjected him to severe physical and psychological torture to force confessions.
According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Kazemi has spent 336 days in the Ministry of Intelligence detention facility and Ward 209 of Evin Prison, and continues to be denied face-to-face family visits.
Denial of basic rights, including family contact
Kazemi’s mother, Shahnaz Khosravi, recently wrote on social media that Evin Prison authorities refused to allow an in-person meeting with her son without providing any explanation. She stated that despite waiting five weeks, she has only received one short phone call from him, with no further contact permitted.
Kazemi has also been denied phone communication, legal counsel, and meaningful access to his case file. Neither he nor his lawyers have been formally informed of the charges against him.
During his detention, Kazemi has been subjected to continuous psychological and physical torture to extract forced confessions. His mother has previously stated that security officials explicitly conditioned access to legal rights — including visits and representation — on his “cooperation”.
Such practices constitute severe and systematic violations of fundamental human rights, including the prohibition of torture and coerced confessions, and stand in direct contradiction to international legal standards.
Period of enforced disappearance following arrest
Following his arrest, Kazemi was subjected to a period of enforced disappearance. After a single brief call before being transferred to Evin Prison, he was denied all communication with his family and legal representatives. His family and lawyers were left without information about his condition, whereabouts, or legal status.
To this day, Kazemi’s lawyers remain barred from reviewing his case file, and his family has not been officially informed of the charges against him.
This situation reflects a clear example of enforced disappearance used as a tool of repression, placing both the detainee and his family under sustained psychological pressure.
Arrest and transfer to Evin Prison
Kazemi was arrested on January 19, 2025, by agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence at his home in Kuhdasht and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison on January 22, 2025. The arrest was carried out without prior summons or legal notice, and security forces confiscated his and his family’s electronic devices.
Kazemi’s political background and previous convictions
Kazemi was previously arrested in April 2020, sentenced to three and a half years in prison on security-related charges, and served two years in Khorramabad Central Prison before being released under electronic monitoring.
According to informed sources, his prior political activities and history as a former political prisoner are believed to be among the primary reasons for his renewed arrest and continued persecution, aimed at extracting forced confessions under pressure.
