Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb

Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb

Age: 61

Activism/rights: Human rights activist and opponent of the death penalty

Status: Imprisoned in Karaj Central Penitentiary

Judicial status: Sentenced to a total of 7 years and 8 months in prison across three separate cases, 2 years of exile, a 2-year travel ban, and a 2-year ban from public and government employment

Violations: Arbitrary arrest and detention; denial of due process and a fair trial; denial of access to legal counsel; deprivation of the right to work; denial of medical care; restrictions on freedom of movement

Zartosht Ahmadi-Ragheb is a human rights activist and death penalty abolitionist who has previously been arrested and imprisoned several times, with multiple cases against him. Zartosht is one of the 14 activists who signed a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei demanding his resignation. He was a firefighter at the Tehran Fire Department for 17 years but was fired from his job for his civil activities. In May 2017, Zartosht was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar to nine months’ imprisonment. After protesting against his dismissal from the fire service and a sit-in outside the Shahriar municipality in January 2019, he was briefly detained and later released. He was rearrested by security agents at his home on 27 August 2019 and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. He was charged with “propaganda against the system, insulting the leadership and insulting the heads of the three branches of state.” After spending five months in temporary detention, Zartosht was released on bail on 13 January 2020. On 30 May 2020, Zartosht was summoned to Evin Court for “photographing prohibited areas.” He surrendered at Branch 4 of the Execution of Criminal Sentences of the Public and Revolutionary Court of Shahriar on 15 June 2020, where he was arrested. Zartosht was released from prison on 3 January 2021 after completing his sentence and pending his other charges. Zartosht was re-arrested on 21 February 2022 and taken to Evin Prison, and subsequently transferred to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary and from there to Rajai Shahr Prison in March. On 23 May, he was informed that he was sentenced to a year imprisonment in absentia three months prior. Zartosht was released from prison on 13 February 2023 after being included in the general amnesty list. However, he was rearrested at a protest against the mass poisoning of school children on 16 March and taken to Evin Prison. On 29 May, he was sentenced to five years imprisonment for “assembly and collusion against national and international security” and 8 months for “propaganda against the system” by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. He was sentenced in absentia due to his refusal to be shackled and handcuffed. 

After being transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison in September 2023, Zartosht announced in February 2024 that he had joined the “No Death Penalty Tuesdays” movement and that he would go on hunger strike every Tuesday in protest against the wave of executions. In June 2024, following his protest against the transfer of Ahmadreza Haeri to solitary confinement, he himself was transferred to solitary confinement in Unit 3, which houses death row prisoners. One month later, in a separate case opened against him for protesting and participating in teachers’ demonstrations against the serial poisoning of school children, he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and two years’ exile to the city of Qeydar on a charge of “propaganda against the system”.

Zartosht has been on several hunger strikes behind bars which has severely deteriorated his health.

On 15 November 2025, he was transferred to Karaj Penitentiary on the orders of the Karaj prosecutor.

On 22 November 2025, he was transferred to solitary confinement as punishment after protesting restrictions imposed on prisoners, including limitations on telephone calls and compulsory yard time. He was returned to the general ward in late December 2025.

On June 28, 2026, a new case was opened against Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb on charges of “propaganda against the regime,” “insulting the Supreme Leader,” “disrupting public order,” and “spreading false information.” His court hearing was held via videoconference on August 19, 2026.

On September 23, 2026, Ahmadi Ragheb was sentenced to one year in prison, a two-year travel ban, and a two-year ban from government and public service employment, bringing his total prison sentences to seven years and eight months. He remains imprisoned in Karaj Central Penitentiary, where he faces restrictions on family contact and visits and is held in inadequate conditions.

In October 2026, Ahmadi Ragheb and Masoud Farhikhteh went on hunger strike to protest widespread executions in Iran. Both were punitively transferred to solitary confinement. On October 16, 2026, after nearly two weeks, Ahmadi Ragheb ended his hunger strike following appeals from labor and human rights activists.