Environmental activist Hamed Tizroyan held without charges in Mazandaran

Hengaw – Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Authorities in Mazandaran Province have continued to hold Hamed Tizroyan, an environmental activist, wildlife photographer, and PhD student in environmental studies, for more than two weeks without formally charging him or clarifying his legal status.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, government forces arrested Tizroyan on Tuesday, May 4, 2026, while he was working in Kiasar National Park in Mazandaran Province. At the time of his arrest, he was participating in a project to build a ranger shelter intended to support the protection of the region’s wildlife and natural environment.

More than two weeks after his detention, judicial and security authorities in Mazandaran have continued to deny him temporary release on bail and have not disclosed the exact charges against him.

Tizroyan is widely known in Iran for his work as a wildlife researcher and photographer. During last year’s large-scale wildfires in the Hyrcanian forests, Mazandaran’s Cyber Police (FATA) blocked his Instagram page after he published images and information documenting the extent of the fires and their impact on the region.