Reza Valizadeh, a dual US-Iranian citizen and former journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Farda, is marking two years behind bars in Iran.
Valizadeh was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of "collaborating with a hostile government" in December 2024, a conviction his supporters and press-freedom groups reject. His appeal was rejected.
Valizadeh resigned from Radio Farda in November 2022 after a decade of work. He returned to Iran in early 2024 to visit his family but was arrested on September 22 of that year and kept in pretrial detention.
Since the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, Iranian authorities have launched a brutal, and sometimes deadly, crackdown on any dissent. Amini died while in custody of Iran's so-called morality police for an alleged violation of the country's headscarf law.
Her case sparked the Women, Life, Freedom movement that rattled the hard-line authorities.
Valizadeh also accused the Iranian authorities of inviting war in the country of some 90 million people, citing its disputed nuclear program and human rights violations.
The United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign of Iran in late February. The war has killed hundreds of Iranians, worsened the already acute economic crisis in the country, and led to a tightening of the crackdown on dissent.
Sources close to Valizadeh claim he fell into a "security trap" despite receiving unofficial assurances from Iranian security officials that he would not face legal troubles upon returning to Iran.
The US State Department has condemned Valizadeh’s detention, calling it "unjust" and inconsistent with international legal standards.
Press freedom organizations, including Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, have urged Iranian authorities to release Valizadeh immediately.
Iran is routinely accused of arresting dual nationals and foreign citizens on false charges to use them to pressure Western countries. In September 2023, Iran released five Americans jailed in Iran in a prisoner swap.
Earlier this month, 71-year-old Iranian-American citizen Kamran Hekmati was released from Tehran's notorious Evin prison, but his family said he is unable to leave the country due to a travel ban.
Iran is also among the most repressive countries in terms of freedom of the press. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 177th out of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index. Only China, North Korea, and Eritrea scored lower.
The Paris-based media watchdog said Iran is also one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists.
