Jasem Heydari

Jassem Heydari was a political prisoner who was executed at Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz on 28 February 2021. He had been arrested on 16 May 2017 on charges of involvement in attacks on a police outpost near Ahvaz and a local police station.

According to human rights reports, Jassem Heydari was one of four political prisoners who were beaten and tortured in custody to extract forced confessions. The abuse was so severe that he reportedly had to use a wheelchair for a period of time. Along with Ali Khosraji, Hossein Silawi, and Ali Motairi, he also sewed his lips shut and went on a hunger strike to protest the denial of family visits and the mistreatment of prisoners by prison authorities.

According to a former political prisoner and human rights activist, security forces contacted the families of Jassem Heydari, Ali Khosraji, Nasser Khafajian, and Hossein Silawi and instructed them to gather in Ahvaz before taking them to Sepidar Prison for what they believed would be a routine visit. They were allowed only a 20-minute meeting and were not informed that the executions were imminent. About half an hour later, as the prisoners' bodies were brought out of the prison, their families realized that the death sentences had been carried out.