Reports related to arrests and political prisoners
Vrisheh Moradi, a 39-year-old Kurdish women’s rights activist, was sentenced to death in Iran and is currently held in Evin Prison, where she has been subjected to torture and solitary confinement; she faces charges of "rebellion" for her activism against the regime.
Bita Hemati, an Iranian protester arrested for participating in demonstrations, is among those facing execution, drawing attention from former U.S. President Donald Trump. Hundreds of other protesters are also on death row in Iranian prisons.
Goldie Ghamari tweeted thanks to former President Trump, stating that the women she mentioned are a small fraction of the tens of thousands of political prisoners held in Iran. Ghamari called for the end of the Islamic Republic regime in Iran.
FBI agents arrested 44-year-old Iranian national Shamim Mafi at Los Angeles International Airport as she attempted to board a flight to Turkey; Mafi is accused of trafficking weapons on behalf of the Iranian regime, including drones, bombs, and ammunition to Sudan through a front company in Oman, and faces charges under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
On Saturday night, US federal agents detained Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, for allegedly aiding the Iranian regime in transporting drones, bombs, and ammunition to Sudan.
Souri Babaei Chaginy was arrested on January 6, 2025, in Qazvin, on charges of filming government forces beating and detaining protesters; he has been in solitary confinement for over 100 days and has been sentenced to three years in prison and a two-year travel ban.
On April 19, U.S. forces in the Arabian Sea, including the USS Spruance (DDG-111) and Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, intercepted and disabled the Iranian-flagged MV Touska heading to Bandar Abbas, bringing the total number of vessels turned back since the blockade began to 25.
U.S. President Trump announced that the U.S. military detained an Iranian cargo ship attempting to breach the naval blockade imposed on Iran.
U.S. authorities arrested Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old Iranian national and resident of Los Angeles, at Los Angeles International Airport on charges of smuggling weapons, including bombs, drones, and ammunition, on behalf of the Islamic Republic to Sudan in coordination with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces Party, stated that the presence of Hezbollah and its weapons is the reason for the need for a ceasefire, Israeli occupation, prisoners, displaced people, and the necessity for reconstruction in Lebanon.
On December 14, 2025, 22 people were arrested in Khuzestan, Iran, for speaking to media outlets outside the country.
On Monday, April 24, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security arrested Yousef Azizi, an Iranian citizen, in the United States on charges of visa fraud and providing false information, including denying membership in the Basij organization. Azizi, who first entered the U.S. in 2013 on a student visa and studied at the University of Michigan and Virginia Polytechnic Institute, remains in custody at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility pending his hearing.
