October 8, 2026 — Ahmadreza Haeri, a human rights defender, former political prisoner, and Kurdish citizen from Ilam residing in Tehran, has been named one of the five recipients of the 2026 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk. Haeri began his human rights advocacy in 2014 after protesting the violent crackdowns on prisoners in Evin Prison’s Ward 350. Since then, he has consistently defended prisoners' rights and campaigned against the death penalty. Despite facing multiple arrests and convictions, he continued writing open letters, exposing abuses, and campaigning against executions, becoming one of the co-founders of the "No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign in 2024.

Front Line Defenders announced that it was honoring five human rights defenders who refused to be silenced as the "2026 Human Rights Defenders at Risk" during a special ceremony in Dublin. Haeri, an anti-death penalty activist in Iran recently released from prison, is among this year's laureates. Front Line Defenders noted that although recently released, Haeri remains in Iran and was unable to travel to Dublin to receive the award in person.

Alan Glasgow, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders, highlighted the concerning global environment for human rights defenders, stating that a resilient generation of defenders believes in a brighter future and that this year's winners symbolize this wave of change—defenders worldwide who peacefully and courageously stand for justice and equality, refusing to be silenced despite risks such as arbitrary arrest, torture, death threats, judicial harassment, and defamation.

In its statement, Front Line Defenders wrote: "Ahmadreza Haeri is an Iranian Kurdish human rights defender and anti-death penalty activist who has dedicated his life to defending the dignity and fundamental rights of others. On September 9, 2026, he was released from prison after serving three and a half years—a period during which physical attacks, solitary confinement, and judicial harassment failed to diminish his courage in defending prisoners' rights, including their right to life."

Haeri was one of the key initiators of "No to Execution Tuesdays," a self-organized, prisoner-led movement against capital punishment in Iran. Every Tuesday—prior to the main execution day on Wednesdays—prisoners across dozens of facilities join a weekly hunger strike despite severe reprisals.

Quoting Haeri’s words regarding his anti-death penalty activism, Front Line Defenders cited: "They want death, while we fight for life. I am certain that in our struggle for the right to life, there will be no defeat."

Summary of Ahmadreza Haeri’s Case and Advocacy (2014–2026)

Beginnings: Black Thursday at Evin Prison (2014–2020)

The judicial proceedings against Haeri stem from April 17, 2014, following a violent raid by security forces on Evin Prison's Ward 350. On April 22, families and citizens gathered outside the Presidential Office to protest the severe beatings of inmates. Haeri was arrested 20 days later (May 12, 2014) by the IRGC Sarallah Headquarters. Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court (Judge Salavati) sentenced him to three years and six months in prison. Although the Supreme Court overturned this verdict, the Appeals Court (Judges Zargar and Babaei) ultimately sentenced him to six months in prison and 74 lashes. The flogging sentence was executed on July 25, 2020, and after serving his prison term in Fashafuyeh (Greater Tehran Central Prison), he was conditionally released on October 8, 2020.

Exposing Suspicious Deaths and Rearrest (2021–2023)

Following his release, Haeri remained active. On September 8, 2021, he participated in a protest regarding events in Afghanistan while simultaneously exposing suspicious deaths of prisoners in custody (including Sasan Niknafs and Amir-Hossein Hatami), which prompted lawsuits by the State Prisons Organization. On June 1, 2022, IRGC Intelligence raided his home, and he was arrested on June 27, 2022. Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to three years and eight months in prison. He reported to Ghezel Hesar Prison to begin serving his sentence on May 9, 2023. In June 2023, an in absentia trial added three months to his sentence. By October 2023, through open letters to Head of the Judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, he exposed his transfer in shackles and the denial of visits with his young daughter, Hasti.

Open Letters, Severe Reprisals, and Campaigning Against Executions (2023–2024)

  • Exposing Mock Executions: In December 2023, risking his safety, Haeri exposed the severe torture and mock execution inflicted on political prisoner Saman Yasin, writing to Ejei to demand a review of Ward 240 surveillance footage and the formation of a fact-finding committee.
  • No to Execution Tuesdays: In January 2024, following a prison guard raid on his ward, Haeri, along with nine other prisoners (including Saeed Masouri, Jafar Ebrahimi, and Hamzeh Sawari), co-founded the weekly hunger strike campaign "No to Execution Tuesdays," publicly inviting UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif to inspect Ghezel Hesar Prison.
  • Denouncing Systemic Violations: In March 2024, he described the chained transfers of death-row inmates to execution sites as a "Symphony of Execution." In July 2024, he boycotted the presidential election. In September 2024, in a joint letter, he referred to the denial of medical care to ill prisoners as "systematic murder and white killing."
  • Exposing Judicial Concealment: In November 2024, Haeri revealed that Judge Abbasali Houzan (Branch 36) had added an extra 20 months to his sentence and concealed the ruling for a year to obstruct his retrial appeal at the Supreme Court.
  • Political Stance: In December 2024, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, he wrote in an open letter that "minority tyranny has an inevitable expiration date" and refused to give written responses to interrogators. He also raised concerns over how attacks or threats against Supreme Court judges affected the fates of death-row prisoners and condemned prosecutors' directives aimed at expediting executions.

Resistance Against Raids, New Fabricated Cases, and Release (2025–2026)

In May 2025, Haeri wrote an open letter seeking justice for Mohsen Langarneshin, releasing an audio file detailing how prosecutor official Ghan'atkar shouted while denying legal counsel to death-row defendants. In July 2025, following the arrest of his brother Sajjad, Haeri warned authorities that he would defend his family’s rights with his life. On July 26, 2025, during a raid by 100 special forces guards, he was severely beaten and transferred to solitary confinement. In February 2026, he was dragged before the prison disciplinary board over his anti-death penalty activism and faced death threats and knife attacks from hired violent offenders inside the prison. In May 2026, he faced additional indictment via videoconference.

Haeri was officially released from Ghezel Hesar Prison on September 8, 2026, upon the full completion of his prison sentence.

About Front Line Defenders

The annual Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk was established in 2005 to honor human rights defenders who, at great personal risk, make outstanding contributions to promoting and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention on their struggle, the award provides a platform to amplify the causes they champion. The 2026 laureates represent the 50th group of human rights defenders recognized since the award's inception. This year's winners were selected from hundreds of nominations through a secure process between November 2025 and January 2026. The award ceremony took place today at Trinity College Dublin, attended by foreign diplomats, Irish government officials, civil society members, and international media.