Maryam Akbari Monfared Released After 17 Years in Prison 08/04/2026

Maryam Akbari Monfared has been released after spending 17 years in prison. According to human‑rights reports, she should have been released three years earlier under the laws of the Islamic Republic. Akbari Monfared was arrested during the December 2009 protests in Tehran and is the mother of three children.

Her family has long been associated with political persecution. Three of her brothers and one sister were executed in the 1980s, including two members of the MEK in 1981 and 1985, and two siblings executed during the 1988 mass executions.

Akbari Monfared was initially charged with “disturbing public order,” “acting against national security,” “propaganda against the state,” and “Moharebeh through membership in the MEK,” receiving a 15‑year sentence. In 2023, after 13 years in prison, she faced new charges including “propaganda against the state,” “assembly and collusion,” “spreading false information,” “insulting the Supreme Leader,” and “encouraging public disorder,” resulting in an additional three‑year sentence, exile, and confiscation of property.

Human‑rights groups state that her long‑standing pursuit of justice for her executed siblings has been a central reason for continued pressure on her. She served her sentence in Evin, Semnan, and Qarchak prisons and did not receive a single day of furlough during her 17 years of imprisonment.