On August 14, 2021, Iranian journalist Mehdi Mahmoudian, a freelance columnist and commentator covering politics, human rights, and corruption who also shares news and commentary on X, was arrested alongside several other journalists and political and human rights activists from a friend's house. He was taken to Evin prison to start serving the first of multiple sentences issued in the years prior, U.S. Congress-funded Radio Farda reported.
In December 2020, Mahmoudian was arrested and sentenced to six months for his reporting on social media alleging that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps interrogated journalists, according to the exile-run Iran Wire. After more than two weeks in prison, he was released on bail.
He was sentenced to a year in prison in 2019 for “spreading propaganda against the system” for signing an open letter criticizing the regime’s economic policies, according to the exile-run Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA).
Finally, he was sentenced to four more years for “false news” and “colluding and cooperating against the national security” for publishing a report on the regime’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, according to HRANA. This last sentence also included a two-year ban on practicing journalism and a two-year ban on leaving the country.
Mahmoudian was sent to a conditional medical furlough in March 2023 due to kidney and heart issues and after posting a heavy bail, according to reports. His furlough was later extended until July 2023, when he returned to prison.
While in prison, Mahmoudian was convicted and sentenced to an additional eight months on national security–related charges after comments on the poor hygiene situation at Evin Prison.
In June 2025, Mahmoudian was inside Evin Prison during an Israeli airstrike on the facility.
In August 2025, authorities transferred him back to Evin, where he and several other prisoners were violently confronted by security officers; Mahmoudian was severely beaten during the incident. He was released on September 15, 2025, due to his inclusion in a general amnesty and serving his sentenced concurrently.
The journalist was previously imprisoned for five years from 2009 to 2014 after he was convicted of “mutiny against the system” for his coverage of complaints of abuse and rape of detainees at a detention center in 2009. His coverage led to the closure of the center.
Mahmoudian was not included on CPJ’s 2021 or 2022 prison censuses as CPJ was not aware of his arrest at the time.
Immediately after his release, Mahmoudian faced new legal proceedings related to his written report about the airstrike, the transfer to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary (Fashafouyeh), and the subsequent return to Evin.
A separate case was also opened by the prosecutor’s office in November 2025 after he published part of a list of instances of corruption in Iran and criticized the authorities’ leniency towards the offenders.
In addition to his work in journalism, Mahmoudian served as a consultant on the screenplay for Jafar Panahi’s film A Simple Accident, which won the 2025 Cannes award and has been submitted as France’s official entry for the Oscars.
CPJ emailed Iran’s mission to the United Nations in late 2024 for comment on the imprisonment of several Iranian journalists but received no response.