Iran files new charges against imprisoned reformer

Jailed Iranian activist and former cabinet member Mostafa Tajzadeh, a prominent figure in the Islamic Republic's reform camp, has been charged with “propaganda” against the state, local media reported on Monday.

Tajzadeh, who has been imprisoned in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since July 2022, served as deputy interior minister under the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, a reformer who oversaw a rapprochement with the West between 1997 and 2005.

He was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2022, including for “conspiracy against state security,” his lawyer said at the time.

Reformist daily newspaper Ham Mihan announced on Monday that new charges had been brought against Tajzadeh. He was again accused of “conspiracy against state security” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic”.

He had already spent a total of seven years behind bars after being arrested along with other reform leaders in 2009 after the hardliner was re-elected under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in an election contested by the opposition.

Tajzadeh, an outspoken commentator on national politics through social media channels run by his relatives, said in a letter that he would “not appear in court” in the new case, according to Ham Mihan.

In case of conviction Ham Mihan Tajzadeh could face up to six more years in prison.

In recent years, he has pushed for democratization and called on the authorities to make “structural changes” in Iran’s political system.