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Security forces have arrested three prominent scholars — Parviz Sedaghat, Mahsa Asadollazadeh, and Shirin Karimi — while summoning and interrogating economic researcher Mohammad Maljoo. The arrests of these independent voices in the social sciences and humanities who are known for their critical, left-leaning perspectives on Iran’s political and economic structures appears to mark a new, concerning violation of freedom of speech and thought.
The situation of the four citizens remains unclear, as neither Iran’s security nor judicial authorities have issued any official statements regarding their detention. The absence of information about the arresting authority, reasons, or charges has deepened fears among Iran’s academic and human-rights communities about their safety and due process.
According to reports, security agents raided the homes of these individuals, confiscating electronic devices, books, and research materials. The simultaneous arrests and summons indicate what appears to be a coordinated operation targeting researchers known for their critical and independent scholarship.
Parviz Sedaghat, a 63-year-old economist and political-economy researcher, has been an influential figure in Iranian intellectual life. He has collaborated with several economic publications, written extensively on inequality and neoliberalism in Iran, and published numerous translations and critical essays on global political economy. Known for his left-oriented analyses of capitalism and state policy, Sedaghat was arrested at his home on Sunday evening after security officers searched the premises and seized his belongings.
Mahsa Asadollazadeh, 35, is a sociologist and graduate of Tarbiat Modares University. Recognized for her independent research in political sociology and contributions to the website Political Economic Critique (Naqd-e Eqtesad-e Siasi), she was arrested on Monday at her parents’ residence in Tehran. Witnesses report that security officers entered without explanation and confiscated her personal and academic equipment. Her work often engages with critical social theory and explores power relations within Iran’s social structure.
Shirin Karimi, 42, is a translator and sociologist with a degree from the University of Tehran. She has authored and translated numerous works in sociology and philosophy, contributing to Iran’s critical academic literature. She was detained early Monday morning following a search of her home, during which agents seized her books and communication devices. As of now, her place of detention remains unknown.
Mohammad Maljoo, 53, an economist with a PhD from the University of Tehran, was summoned for questioning and had his personal devices confiscated. Maljoo, who has taught both in Iran and abroad, is recognized for his critical studies on Iran’s post-revolutionary economic history and his progressive economic viewpoints. Though not officially detained, his interrogation and confiscation of materials suggest that the crackdown extends beyond formal arrests.
The Islamic Students’ Association of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Tehran issued a public statement on November 4, condemning what it called the “arrest and intimidation of independent researchers.” The statement declared that “at a time when the country is collapsing under successive political, economic, social, and cultural crises — crises the ruling institutions cannot or will not acknowledge — the government has once again resorted to the outdated tool of repression instead of accountability.”
These arrests occur amid a wider pattern of pressure against writers, journalists, and activists across the country. In recent weeks, similar actions have been reported not only in Tehran but also in Kurdistan, Kerman, and Isfahan Provinces, where teachers and labor organizers have been harassed or detained. Security agents recently searched the home of journalist Marzieh Rasouli, producer of the Radio Marz podcast, and confiscated her electronic devices.
Meanwhile, editors of the Tehran-based daily Ham-Mihan reported that security agencies shut down the newspaper’s website and ordered its staff to refrain from posting on social media. The paper’s publisher, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, publicly denounced ongoing pressure from the IRGC Intelligence Organization and the Ministry of Intelligence, warning of the shrinking space for free expression in the country.
Ahmad Zeidabadi, a journalist writing for Ham-Mihan, noted: “The website of Ham-Mihan newspaper has been blocked since last week without any legal notice, and the paper is now published only in limited printed copies. The survival of modern newspapers depends on their online platforms, and blocking a paper’s website is effectively no different from shutting down its publication altogether.”
The arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, and confiscation of personal and research materials constitute clear violations of international human-rights standards, including Articles 9 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a party. These actions undermine freedom of expression, academic freedom, and the right to security and fair trial. Human-rights observers warn that such detentions are intended to intimidate intellectuals, silence critical inquiry, and dismantle Iran’s independent academic community. The lack of transparency and denial of legal counsel reflect a systematic pattern of repression that extends beyond individual cases.
The arrests of Sedaghat, Asadollazadeh, and Karimi represent an alarming continuation of Iran’s pattern of seeking to silence independent voices. NIAC strongly condemns the detention of these scholars and all political prisoners held for peacefully exercising their rights to free expression, association, and academic inquiry. NIAC urges the Iranian government to move in line with its international rights obligations, including by immediately releasing Parviz Sedaghat, Mahsa Asadollazadeh, Shirin Karimi, and all prisoners unjustly detained in Iran.
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