Reports received by the Karun Human Rights Organization indicate that Mohammad-Ali Amouri-Nejad, an Ahwazi Arab political prisoner held in Ward 5 of Sheiban Prison in Ahwaz, was granted medical furlough on Saturday, 8 Azar 1404 (29 November 2025) after 15 years of imprisonment without a single day of leave.
According to these reports, he was released on a 12-billion-toman bail(5 million USD) and permitted seven days of medical furlough. Amouri-Nejad suffers from multiple health problems, including severe tooth decay, gum inflammation, sinusitis, eye deterioration, and internal medical conditions. Since his arrest in 2010 (1389), he has never once received furlough, spending his entire imprisonment in Sheiban and Karun prisons.
Born in 1977 (1356), Mohammad-Ali Amouri-Nejad is a media activist and a graduate of natural resources engineering from Isfahan University of Technology. During his student years, he contributed to the publication of the cultural magazine “Al-Torath.” He was arrested in 2012 (1391) and initially sentenced to death on charges including “moharebeh” (enmity against God) and “corruption on earth.” His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.
His background includes teaching in high schools in Khalafieh (Ramshir) and founding the Hiwar Cultural Institute, an organization licensed by the National Youth Organization and inspired by the “Dialogue of Civilizations” policy promoted under former President Mohammad Khatami.
In 2007, Amouri-Nejad fled to Iraq, where the UNHCR recognized him as a political refugee. However, he was arrested for irregular entry into Iraq and spent nearly five years in Iraqi detention before being forcibly returned to Iran in 2011. After his handover, several members of the Hiwar Institute were also detained. Two of them—Hashem Sha’bani and Hadi Rashedi—were secretly executed in Karun Prison in 2014.
In May 2021 (Ordibehesht 1400), the Ahwaz Human Rights Organization reported that Amouri-Nejad and two other Arab prisoners, Mukhtar Al-Boshokeh and Qasem Sanjari, were transferred to Sheiban Prison’s infirmary in poor condition after 19 days of torture in secret Ministry of Intelligence facilities.
Later, in June 2021 (Khordad 1400), Amnesty International issued a statement expressing serious concern about his health and calling for his immediate and unconditional release, as well as access to necessary medical care.
