Four days after the arrest of a group of civil society and human rights activists in Mashhad during the memorial service for human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, several detainees—including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi—have reported being subjected to violence by security forces at the time of their arrest. In phone calls with their families, both Narges Mohammadi and women’s rights activist Alieh Motalebzadeh, who was also detained at the ceremony, stated that they were beaten with batons during their apprehension.
The seventh-day memorial ceremony for Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer who had represented numerous political activists, was held on Friday, December 11, 2025, in Mashhad and was marked by tension and violence. During the event, participants chanted slogans critical of the government, including “Woman, Life, Freedom” and “Death to the Dictator.” According to an official statement by the Mashhad Prosecutor’s Office, 39 people were arrested during the ceremony. Among those detained were well-known women human rights defenders (WHRDs) Narges Mohammadi, Alieh Motalebzadeh, Sepideh Gholian, Hasti Amiri, and Pouran Nazemi. All five have previously faced arrest and imprisonment and have spent several years in detention.
Narges Mohammadi, who was released from prison last year on medical leave, had already spent approximately seven years behind bars before her recent rearrest.
Sepideh Gholian, a women’s and labor rights activist, had been released from prison in June 2025 after serving a sentence of two years and two months. Student activist Hasti Amiri had previously served a total of two years in jail across two separate cases. Alieh Motalebzadeh, a veteran figure in Iran’s women’s movement, had earlier spent three years in prison on charges of propaganda against the regime and assembly and collusion against national security. Pouran Nazemi, a human rights activist, has also been arrested, detained, and imprisoned multiple times in the past. According to the latest information, all detainees have been transferred to the Mashhad Intelligence Office, where interrogations are ongoing.
The mass arrest of prominent civil society activists and participants in Khosrow Alikordi’s memorial comes amid mounting concerns over his sudden death. Alikordi was found dead in his office on December 5, 2025. Authorities initially attributed his death to a heart attack; however, suspicions intensified after security agents confiscated all footage from the office’s surveillance cameras and refused to release evidence or documentation confirming the official cause of death. In recent days, his family and close associates have raised serious questions about the circumstances surrounding his death. Some have described it as a state-sanctioned killing, and human rights organizations have called for an independent investigation.
Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer and human rights defender, was among the attorneys who represented many individuals arrested during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. He himself had previously been sentenced to one year in prison by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court.
Femena strongly condemns the mass arrest of civil society activists who had peacefully gathered to mourn Khosrow Alikordi and calls for their immediate and unconditional release. The Iranian judiciary must address the serious doubts surrounding Alikordi’s death by granting independent lawyers and his family full access to all relevant documents, forensic reports, and surveillance footage from his office. Femena further calls for an independent, impartial investigation into both the circumstances of Alikordi’s death and the violent arrests of human rights defenders attending his memorial service. We strongly urge Iranian authorities to immediately end the ill-treatment of detainees and provide them with full access to legal counsel and medical care. Failure to take these steps will only deepen public distrust and reinforce concerns that Alikordi’s death may have been a state-sactioned killing.