According to information received by Hana, Seyed Ahmad Seyedabdollahi, a psychologist and counselor from Borujen residing in Tehran, has been held in Borujen Prison since July 7, 2026, serving a seven month sentence. At the same time, a second case has been opened against him on the charge of “propaganda against the system of the Islamic Republic,” which remains at the investigative stage.
The first case arose following the posting of an English language video on his personal page and its transmission to a media network opposed to the Islamic Republic. In this case, Seyedabdollahi was convicted on the charge of “conducting media activities contrary to national security” and sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment and five years’ disqualification from public and governmental services.
He was first detained on January 14, 2026, at his father’s home in Borujen, by plainclothes agents who presented no judicial warrant. Mobile phones and electronic equipment belonging to the household were also confiscated, and he was subsequently held for a period in solitary confinement and at an IRGC intelligence detention facility in Isfahan. According to information obtained by Hana, Seyedabdollahi was denied contact with his family for seventeen days during this period, and his family had no information regarding his whereabouts during the initial days of his detention.
His second arrest took place in May/June 2026, in connection with the case of “propaganda against the system.” Seyedabdollahi was released on bail on July 5, 2026, but only two days later was arrested once again, for enforcement of the sentence in the first case, and transferred to Borujen Prison.
The basis for the first conviction was the publication and transmission of a political message. The imposition of imprisonment and a five year disqualification from public services, absent any finding of violent conduct or a specific threat to national security, conflicts with the right to freedom of expression under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Furthermore, his detention without a warrant, the prolonged severance of contact with his family, and their lack of information regarding his whereabouts conflict even with the minimal guarantees afforded to defendants under the laws of the Islamic Republic, such as Article 32 of the Constitution and the Islamic Republic’s Code of Criminal Procedure. Hana emphasizes that the filing of the second case on the charge of “propaganda against the system” constitutes a continuation of the same pattern of criminal prosecution on account of Seyedabdollahi’s expression of opinion and media activity.