One of Iran’s most prominent liberal thinkers appears to be days away from being sent back to jail to serve a new six-year sentence, despite the fact he has kept a low profile and not taken part in street demonstrations.
Majid Tavakoli was first arrested in September last year at the outset of nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in what was seen as a “preventive arrest”. He was among a large group of dissidents swept up in a state dragnet in response to the “women, life, freedom” movement prompted by Amini’s death.
Tavakoli is seen by Iran’s diaspora as a possible leader of the protests, but he has not sought such a role and he avoided joining the collective demonstration movement, believing it could be used against him in court. His imminent imprisonment is one of the clearest examples of Iran’s willingness to detain its citizens for their political views.
Soon after his release in December 2022, following 89 days in jail, he was charged first with propaganda against the state – a charge that carries a one-year sentence – and then with assembly and collusion with foreign powers, a charge that carries five years. The sentence also imposes a ban after his release on all social media use for two years, as well as a requirement that he does not live in the capital for the same period.
He was initially sentenced in July and his lawyers were told he had no further right of appeal. He is married with a young daughter.
Tavakoli’s friends fear he will now be sent to jail within days, but the precise timing is not clear.
As a student leader more than a decade ago, he has been previously arrested at least three times by the Iranian intelligence ministry. Described as the “heart of the student movement”, he spent a total of five years in jail including a long period of solitary confinement. He has written vividly about the impact of torture on prisoners, as well as solitary confinement and has been awarded numerous human rights awards.
He used Twitter, now known as X and where he has 180,000 followers, and the social network Clubhouse as a way to challenge the protest movement to consider how to realistically achieve change.
His writings about the value of democracy, rule of law and his criticisms of opposition tactics has given him the status of a thought leader. Just as critical of Iranian reformists as of hardliners, he also questioned how the street protests could be transformed into practical change.
Defending himself on X after his sentencing, he said: “The prosecution file still has nothing but my writings. There are no documents in the file. It can be said that I, like many others, have been arrested in these years just for thinking and writing.”
He added: “We tolerated all the rules of repression and censorship as far as our conscience allowed. We stayed alone and wrote. But they did not tolerate the same and harassed us for thinking and writing. Of course, even if we don’t write, they will bother us. Because we still think. Because we know the truth and adhere to the truth.”
