Leila Saremi, Daughter of Executed Political Prisoner Ali Saremi and Mother of Imprisoned Protester Farzad Moazami was arrested
In a continued campaign of repression against the families of political prisoners and justice-seeking relatives, the clerical regime’s security forces violently raided the home of Leila Saremi in Borujerd on the morning of Tuesday, July 22, 2025, arresting her without presenting any legal warrant and transferring her to an undisclosed location.
According to eyewitnesses, approximately 40 security agents stormed the residence, conducting a full-scale search and confiscating all electronic and communication devices, including laptops and mobile phones.
Leila Saremi is the daughter of the late Ali Saremi, a prominent member of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and former political prisoner, who spent 24 years incarcerated under both the Shah’s and Mullahs’ regimes. He was executed in Evin Prison in December 2010.
Leila is also the mother of Farzad Moazami, a political prisoner born in 1998, who has been held in Tehran’s Fashafouyeh Prison (Ward 2) since April 2023 on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security.” During his detention, Farzad has reportedly been subjected to severe physical and psychological torture, held in a cage for extended periods, and denied access to essential medications and medical care, resulting in repeated nervous breakdowns. In October 2024, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
Farzad Moazami is also the cousin of Reza Moazami Goodarzi, one of the protesters killed during Iran’s November 2019 uprising. Following Reza’s death, Farzad and his family became vocal advocates for justice and accountability—efforts that, according to those close to them, have made them persistent targets of harassment by the regime’s security apparatus.
The arrest of Farzad’s parents, conducted in blatant disregard of due process, is a flagrant violation of human rights and a deliberate attempt to silence grieving families. This pattern of intimidation has intensified in recent years, particularly against families of protest victims and political dissidents, and reflects an increasingly alarming trend of state-sponsored retaliation.
The Iranian Resistance calls on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and other human rights organizations to take immediate action for the release of Leila Saremi and her son Farzad Moazami.
