Saeed Masouri Faces New Case for Supporting Prisoners Protesting Executions

Breathing in Confinement, Sunday, 4 October 2026: Saeed Masouri, a political prisoner held in Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj who has spent more than 26 years in prison, is facing a new judicial case on the charge of “propaganda against the system.”

According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, Ramin Safarnia, a lawyer, announced in a post on his account on the social media platform X that a hearing in his client’s new case had been held at Branch 2 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court, where he presented his defence.

Referring to Saeed Masouri’s 26 years of imprisonment, Safarnia stressed that, given the legal circumstances of his client’s case, his life sentence should be overturned and that he should be eligible for the provisions of Note 6 of Article 19 of the Islamic Penal Code, paving the way for his release.

According to the information published, the new case against Saeed Masouri was opened after he expressed support for prisoners held in Ward 2 of Qezelhesar Prison who had gone on hunger strike in protest against the issuance and implementation of death sentences. In connection with this, judicial authorities have accused the political prisoner of “propaganda against the system,” and his case is currently being heard by Branch 2 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court.

The new judicial case against Saeed Masouri comes after he has already spent more than two decades of his life in prison. The prosecution of prisoners for supporting the demands of fellow inmates and protesting against the death penalty has raised concerns about restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful protest within prisons. The right to protest and express one’s views is among the rights that prisoners should also enjoy, and deprivation of liberty cannot, in itself, justify the denial of their other fundamental rights.