Families Use Forensics to Locate Detained Loved Ones
- Families in Iran are employing ad-hoc forensics to determine the locations of detained relatives who have been moved to undisclosed facilities, facing risks of execution or abuse.
- The situation intensified following the outbreak of protests across Iran in early 2026.
- One instance involves Ali Asadollahi, a thirty-seven-year-old poet and dissident.
Families in Iran are employing ad-hoc forensics to determine the locations of detained relatives who have been moved to undisclosed facilities, facing risks of execution or abuse.
The situation intensified following the outbreak of protests across Iran in early 2026. Security officers began arresting suspected sympathizers of the movement, including dissidents and poets, often without formal charges.
The Case of Ali Asadollahi
One instance involves Ali Asadollahi, a thirty-seven-year-old poet and dissident. Asadollahi was arrested from his home in late January 2026 by security officers.
In late February 2026, Asadollahi contacted his family to state that he would be released on bail and requested that they secure the necessary funds to collect him from prison.
Following this communication, the family ceased hearing from him for several weeks. Their efforts to locate him coincided with the start of a war involving the United States and Israel bombing Iran, which occurred the day after Asadollahi’s call.
Search Efforts and Official Responses
The Asadollahi family attempted to locate their relative at Evin Prison, located in the foothills of the Alborz Mountains north of Tehran. Upon arrival, they found hundreds of other Iranians gathered outside the facility, many of whom had traveled through bombardment to find loved ones.
The family sought access to Ward 209, a section of the prison managed by Iran’s intelligence ministry specifically for political prisoners. Guards at the facility informed the family that the detainees from that ward had been transferred to another location.
Further inquiries were made at the Islamic Revolutionary Court in eastern Tehran. While an officer there confirmed that Asadollahi had been moved to a new site, the official refused to provide specific details regarding the location.
The lack of official transparency has led families to share information via group chats and conduct their own investigations to track the movement of prisoners who have disappeared from known facilities.