- Prison
- Ward 8, Evin
- Status
- Imprisoned
Houman Jokar, an environmentalist, was arrested along with eight other environmentalists in a coordinated operation by the IRGC Intelligence Organization in the final months of 2017 on charges related to “espionage.”
Houman Jokar is a wildlife biologist with around 20 years of experience in conservation who has worked in many regions of Iran. He became fascinated with big cats while working on his bachelor’s thesis on the Asiatic cheetah. After several years studying cheetahs, he became project manager of the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project, an international project that began in 2001 to protect the last Asiatic cheetahs. Houman has also been active in other conservation projects across Iran; one of the most notable was his role in the community-based protection of sea turtles on Qeshm Island. That project was widely supported by the local community and created alternative livelihoods through ecotourism, saving hundreds of sea turtle hatchlings each year. He was also active in ecotourism and birdwatching and taught these subjects at various institutions. Since 2001, for his work to protect the Asiatic cheetah, he has been a member of the “Cat Specialist Group” of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Houman is the scientific director of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation and the husband of Sepideh Kashani.
He was sentenced by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Salavati, to 8 years in prison on the charge of “cooperation with the hostile state of America.” This sentence was upheld on 18 February 2020 by Branch 36 of the Court of Appeal.
Houman Jokar had earlier been charged with “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz), a charge for which a suspension of prosecution was later issued.
He is currently held in Ward 8 of Evin prison.
