With the conversion of Azhdar Piri’s sentence to an open verdict, the researcher and editor-in-chief of the Pazhohesh Mellal monthly magazine was released from Karaj Central Prison.
Azhdar Piri Sarmanlou was released from Karaj Central Prison on September 10, 2025, following the change of his sentence to an open verdict. He will serve the remainder of his sentence outside of prison.
Azhdar Piri had been serving his sentence in Karaj Central Prison since May 4, 2025. Previously, Branch 3 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court had sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year ban on social media activities on charges of “propaganda against the system”.
Azhdar Piri, the editor-in-chief of Pazhohesh Mellal monthly magazine, is a resident of Karaj. On October 21, 2024, agents of the Alborz Province Intelligence Department arrested Piri at his home in Karaj. Following his arrest, the agents searched his house and confiscated several personal items, including his mobile phone and laptop. On November 16, 2024, after enduring over three weeks of temporary detention, Piri was released on a 200 million toman bail.
According to a report by the Defending Free Flow of Information (DeFFI), at least 95 Iranian journalists and media outlets faced judicial and security actions in the first six months of 2025. During this period, at least 46 new judicial cases were filed against journalists and media, at least six journalists experienced temporary detention, and in the trials held, Iranian journalists were collectively sentenced to 22 years and three months in prison and fined over 50 million tomans.