Mehdi Mahmoudian, Political and Civil Activist, Summoned to Court for the 'Thirteenth Time'

Mehdi Mahmoudian, a journalist and political and civil activist, announced that he has been summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office for the 'thirteenth time' and is accused of 'propaganda against the regime.' He was imprisoned due to his protests against the downing of the Ukrainian airplane by the IRGC missiles and was released from prison in January 2023. Mr. Mahmoudian explained on X (formerly Twitter) that it has been over 25 years since he first faced the charge of 'propaganda against the regime' in 1998, during which he has been arrested more than 11 times and spent about eight years in various prisons. Nevertheless, according to this political activist, he must appear before Branch 9 of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office on Sunday, May 19, on the same charge. Mr. Mahmoudian wrote on his X account: 'I do not know the reason, but what I know for certain is that after 2019 and the killing of people in the streets and the downing of the Ukrainian airplane by the government, I fundamentally consider this regime to be so lacking in legitimacy that I find even propaganda against it beneath my dignity.' In recent years, Mehdi Mahmoudian has been arrested multiple times, and in October 2020, he was sentenced to five years in prison due to accusations such as signing a letter known as the '77' in protest against the violence of November 2019 and 'calling for lighting candles in memory of the victims of the Ukrainian airplane downing by the IRGC missiles.' He was also among the activists known as 'health seekers' who intended to sue the officials of the Islamic Republic, especially Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, for mismanagement in dealing with the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran.