Alinejad

A federal court held Iran liable for torturing Alireza Alinejad, imprisoned to pressure his sister, U.S. journalist and women's rights campaigner Masih Alinejad.

At a glance

• Case: Alinejad v. Islamic Republic of Iran
• Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:19-cv-03599
• Judge: Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey
• Decided / filed: July 6, 2023
• Violations: Torture
• Status: Judgment entered
• Judgment awarded: $3,325,000

Who they are

Masih Alinejad is an Iranian American journalist and campaigner who launched "My Stealthy Freedom" and "White Wednesdays" against compulsory hijab. Iran answered by going after her family. Her brother, Alireza, is a writer and editor from Babol.

What happened

After Alireza recorded a video saying officials were pressuring the family to denounce Masih, IRGC agents arrested him at home on September 25, 2019. He was held in Evin Prison's IRGC-run Ward 2A. In July 2020 he was sentenced to eight years on security charges, a sentence upheld on appeal. He was released on bail in August 2021, after nearly two years. In July 2021, U.S. prosecutors charged five Iranians with plotting to kidnap Masih from American soil.

What the court found

The court found that Alireza was tortured in detention and awarded Masih Alinejad $1,662,500 in compensatory and $1,662,500 in punitive damages.

Why it matters

• A U.S. court found that Iran uses detained family members inside the country to silence activists abroad.
• PEN America, the Center for Human Rights in Iran, Reporters Without Borders and Voice of America condemned the sentence as collective punishment of a journalist's family.
• Masih Alinejad has said the case was never about money, but about exposing the regime's crimes.

Sources and coverage

Court opinion · CHRI · Iran International

Judgment amounts are the amounts awarded by the court, not amounts collected. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.