The Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center (KHRC), PEN America, and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR) welcome a recent decision from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) regarding the ongoing arbitrary detention of Reza Khandan, a 60-year-old Iranian graphic designer and human rights defender, and calling for his immediate release. Khandan has been arbitrarily detained since December 2024, when he was arrested on old charges related to creating pins in support of the women’s rights movement in Iran.
In its decision, the UNWGAD determined that Khandan’s detention lacks any legal basis and is the direct result of his peaceful advocacy. UNWGAD found that Khandan was targeted for his human rights work and denied access to legal assistance following his arrest. Notably, the UNWGAD also expressed concern that Khandan’s case indicates a widespread practice of arbitrary detention in the country.
“No one should be imprisoned for peacefully supporting the rights and dignity of women, or for challenging discriminatory laws,” said Kerry Kennedy, President of KHRC. “Iranian authorities must release Reza Khandan without further delay and cease their harassment against those who defend fundamental freedoms. Reza’s imprisonment is a stark example of the extraordinary price human rights defenders and their families pay for standing up against injustice and discrimination in Iran.”
Khandan is married to renowned human rights lawyer and activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, and has regularly supported her work. In 2018, as part of a campaign to show support for women protesting the country’s compulsory veiling laws, he began producing pins which read “I object to the compulsory hijab.” He was briefly detained and later convicted under Criminal Code Articles 500 (propaganda activity against the Islamic Republic of Iran) and 610 (gathering and collusion against national security) for this peaceful act of solidarity.
“The UN Working Group’s decision unequivocally confirms the arbitrary, unlawful, and persecutory nature of Reza Khandan’s detention and underscores the urgent need for his immediate release. It also constitutes further international recognition of Reza Khandan and his wife, Nasrin Sotoudeh, as leading figures in the global human rights movement,” said Gila Cotler, CEO of the RWCHR. “We will continue to raise our voices until he—and all of Iran’s political prisoners—are free.”
In December 2024, shortly after Sotoudeh had written and spoken out against a proposed bill that would increase the punishment for non-compliance with mandatory hijab laws, Khandan was arrested on these old charges and thrown in Evin prison, notorious for its overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and abusive use of solitary confinement. Sotoudeh has not been allowed to see her husband due to her refusal to wear a headscarf. When their son attempted to visit Khandan in January 2025, he was beaten by six prison officers, handcuffed and charged with “Destruction of Government Property,” “Insulting Government Officers” and “Resisting Government Officials.”
United Nations Urges Iran to Release Political Prisoner Reza Khandan
