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Jamal Ameli, a celebrated poet and political activist linked to Iran’s 2009 Green Movement, finds himself behind bars once again. Born with the name Mohammad Ali in 1984, Ameli grew up in Tehran’s traditional Sarcheshmeh neighborhood as the youngest of ten children in a religious family. His father, a cleric who avoided politics, dedicated his life to religious studies and family matters. Despite his conservative upbringing, Ameli’s passion for Persian poetry and literature ultimately led him to political activism.
Ameli’s engagement with contemporary Persian poetry was a catalyst for his political awakening. In the early 2010s, his involvement in literary circles with political undertones, including gatherings led by the satirist and famous poet Mohammadreza Alipayam, also known as “Halu,” and sessions at Saraye Ahl-e Ghalam deepened his revolutionary sentiments and alignment with leftist ideologies. Saraye Ahl-e Ghalam was a gathering place established in 2012 by fellow political activist Mehdi Khazali and several of his like-minded colleagues where they regularly held meetings under the banner of free thought.
Ameli was first arrested in 2009 during the nationwide protests against the disputed presidential election results. Detained after the Ashura protests for his critical posts on Facebook, he spent over four months in Evin Prison, including 56 days in solitary confinement. Charged with insulting the Supreme Leader and engaging in anti-state propaganda, he was sentenced to three years in prison, which was later reduced to one year on appeal.
In July 2011, Ameli returned to Evin Prison to serve his sentence. His skills in chess and poetry quickly earned him a reputation among fellow inmates. But outside of prison, he gained recognition as the “Green Poet,” with his verses shared widely across social media. One of his rubaiyat – or poetic verses – which was inspired by the ongoing house arrest of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, became particularly popular.
Ameli was arrested again in 2012 during a raid on Saraye Ahl-e Ghalam, where he and 70 others were detained by masked security forces. Though most were released shortly after, Ameli remained in custody as security forces later raided his home and seized his personal belongings.
Following his release, Ameli married Neda Naji, a sociology student and feminist activist. Despite their strong intellectual connection, Naji’s arrest during a May Day protest in 2019 strained their relationship. Ameli became a tireless advocate for Naji and other detained activists, frequently attending rallies and support gatherings. Naji was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, which was later reduced to 30 months and 30 lashes on appeal. Although temporarily released during the COVID-19 pandemic, the uncertainty surrounding her future took a toll on their marriage, which eventually ended in divorce.
In November 2021, Ameli joined eight other former political prisoners in filing a complaint against the use of solitary confinement as part of the “No to Solitary Confinement” campaign, led by human rights activist Narges Mohammadi. The campaign challenged the legality of solitary confinement, arguing that it constitutes psychological torture.
On the evening of November 27, 2022, during the height of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, news broke of security forces raiding the birthday party of journalist Maryam Vahidian and subsequently arresting her. Ameli was one of the guests at this birthday party and was also apprehended by the security forces, along with several of the other guests.
After summoning and interrogating Ameli, the authorities referred his case to court. The accusations against him included tweeting with the hashtags ‘Mahsa Amini’ and ‘Stop Executions,’ as well as attending a birthday party, which the authorities perceived as associating with leftist circles.
In October 2023, Rostami, the judge of the First Branch of the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, registered two charges against Ameli in the indictment: assembly and collusion, and propaganda against the regime. In February 2024, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Iman Afshari, tried Ameli based on these charges. The court sentenced him to one year of imprisonment for the charge of propaganda against the regime.
This past March of 2024, Ameli was summoned to Evin Prison to begin serving his new sentence. Ameli had submitted a request for electronic monitoring instead of a prison sentence given that he also suffers from an autoimmune disease, but was denied. Since his incarceration, he has been further denied medical leave and necessary treatment, which has only worsened his health status. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) confirmed that Ameli’s health has deteriorated and raised significant concern among his family and supporters.
Currently held in Ward 8 of Evin Prison, Jamal Ameli continues to battle his illness while enduring the hardships of incarceration.
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