Ali Khamenei, trapped in the deadlock of insoluble political and economic crises and terrified of the growing support among youth for the Resistance Units, has resorted to arresting released prisoners, supporters, and families of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) to prevent the uprising from escalating. The following are among those arrested:
- Mohammad Banazadeh Amirkhizi, 79 years old, was arrested on July 28, 2025, and transferred to solitary confinement in the Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Qom. The martyred PMOI members Ali Amirkhizi and Sakineh Amirkhizi, Mohammad’s brother and sister, were killed in 1981 and 1988, respectively, in the struggle against the anti-human clerical regime. Mohammad was first arrested in 2008 on charges of association with the PMOI and released after five years in prison. He was again detained in February 2017 and spent another five years in prison. Mohammad Amirkhizi suffers from various illnesses, including prostate cancer.
- Amirhossein Keshvarifar, a 20-year-old student, was arrested on Monday, July 21, 2025, when security forces raided his home in Khorramabad. The attackers demanded that he unlock his phone, which he refused to do. Amirhossein is the nephew of political prisoners Mohammad and Mehdi Khodakarami, who were arrested in March 2023 and sentenced to eight and four years in prison, respectively, on charges of “membership in the PMOI.” They are currently imprisoned in Khorramabad Central Prison.
- Hossein Asemaninejad, 64 years old, a Snapp driver, was arrested on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Kiashahr, Gilan. He is a former political prisoner from the 1980s and had also been arrested and imprisoned once again in 2003.
- Hamidreza Makki, 68 years old, a mold-making technician, was arrested at his home in Mehrshahr, Karaj, Sunday, June 29, 2025. He is a former political prisoner from the 1980s and was also arrested once again in 2019. His brother, Majidreza Makki, is a political prisoner currently held in Fashafouyeh Prison.
- Morteza Asadi, 47 years old, holding a PhD in Political Science and a dismissed professor from the University of Tehran, was arrested at his home in Tehran on the night of Saturday, June 21, 2025. He had previously been arrested and imprisoned in 2009 and 2019.
- Nader Teimouri was arrested at his private residence in Sorkheh Hesar on the night of Saturday, June 21, 2025. He is a former political prisoner from 1980 to 1988 and a witness to the 1988 massacre.
The Iranian Resistance once again calls on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, and other human rights defenders to condemn these arbitrary arrests and to take urgent action for the release of political prisoners. It also calls for an international fact-finding mission to visit Iran’s prisons and meet with prisoners, especially political prisoners.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
2 August 2025