Iranian Kurdish journalist Azhdar Piri, editor-in-chief of Pazhouhesh-e Melal (Research on Nations) monthly journal, was arrested on October 21, 2024, when intelligence agents raided his home in Karaj, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the capital, Tehran, and confiscated his cell phone and laptop, without explanation.
On November 15, 2024, he was released on bail.
Piri is an expert on Iran’s Kurdish-speaking regions.
On an unknown date in late December 2024, Branch Three of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj sentenced Piri to one year in prison and an additional two-year ban on online activity on charges of “propaganda against the state,” under the Islamic Penal Code.
On May 4, 2025, he began serving his sentence at Karaj Central Prison.
On September 10, 2025, Piri was released as his sentence was converted to an open, or non-custodial, verdict with the remainder of his term to be served outside prison.
CPJ emailed Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York to request comment but received no response.