Iranian political prisoner Mehdi Vafaei Sani has sent an audio message from Ghezel Hesar Prison congratulating his cousin, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, on receiving the prestigious 2026 Magnitsky Award for Outstanding Human Rights Activist, praising his courage and determination to stand firm despite years of imprisonment and the threat of execution.
“First of all, I want to congratulate you on receiving this award, which is not merely a badge of honor but also a testament to the courage of a brave and fearless young man who stood firm in the very heart of captivity and never surrendered,” Mehdi said.
The message of solidarity comes from a political prisoner who has himself endured years of repression.
In a message from Ghezel Hesar Prison, political prisoner Mehdi Vafaei Sani congratulates his cousin, death-row prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, on winning the 2026 Magnitsky Human Rights Award:
“Our bodies may be imprisoned, but our spirits remain free.”
“Whether we witness… pic.twitter.com/ah08DwAC5e— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 14, 2026
International recognition for a prisoner facing execution
On November 12, 2026, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a boxing champion and supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), received the Magnitsky Award at a ceremony in London.
The award was presented in absentia by British MP Bob Blackman and accepted by Mohammad Namdari on behalf of Mohammad Javad and his family.
Mohammad Javad, who remains imprisoned in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, sent a message to the ceremony declaring: “We will never surrender; we will never submit to humiliation.”
Arrested in 2020 following the November 2019 uprising, he was accused of supporting the PMOI and charged with corruption on earth. He has faced torture, prolonged solitary confinement, and repeated death sentences. In October 2025, Iran’s Supreme Court upheld his third death sentence.
“Their spirits and free minds can never be held captive”
In his message, Mehdi praised his cousin’s perseverance and emphasized that imprisonment cannot extinguish the determination of those struggling for freedom.
“You, like all the politically conscious young people of your generation, have proved that although your bodies may be imprisoned, your great spirits and free minds can never be held captive,” he said.
Referring to the international recognition Mohammad Javad received, Mehdi declared that the regime’s attempt to silence him had failed.
“Today, the whole world heard your voice of defiance from behind the concrete walls that they thought would silence you.”
He described the award as a symbol of resistance against oppression and a tribute to those who refuse to compromise their principles.
“You have shown that dignity cannot be bought, broken or imprisoned. Rather, it shines more brightly than ever in the darkest and most difficult moments.”
Mehdi Vafaei Sani’s own ordeal in prison
Mehdi’s message carries particular significance given the persecution he and his family have endured.
Arrested in 2022, he was sentenced to six years in prison on charges including propaganda against the regime, assembly and collusion, and connections to the PMOI.
During the October 15, 2022 fire and crackdown at Evin Prison, he was shot and wounded by regime agents.
On September 30, 2025, intelligence agents transferred him from Evin to an intelligence detention facility under the pretext of a family visit. Authorities subsequently sought to open a new case against him on the charge of moharebeh (waging war against God), which carries a potential death sentence.
In April 2026, Mehdi and other political prisoners were severely beaten, handcuffed, shackled, and blindfolded before being transferred to solitary confinement in Ghezel Hesar Prison.
His mother, Shiva Esmaeili, is also a political prisoner serving a ten-year sentence.
Despite these pressures, Mehdi has continued sending messages expressing his commitment to resistance against the regime.
A tribute to the fallen and rejection of dictatorship
Mehdi dedicated part of his message to the memory of those killed in the struggle for freedom and the grieving mothers who have lost their children.
He expressed hope that Mohammad Javad would survive to witness the liberation of Iran.
“I wish for you to be there, free and liberated, to celebrate that day when these walls come crashing down.”
Toward the end of the recording, Mehdi recited verses rejecting both the former monarchy and the current clerical dictatorship:
“The Shah, the mullahs and the enforcer have all learnt their lessons in the same school,
Their quarrels, clamor and conflicts are nothing but deception.”
This echoes Mohammad Javad’s message to the Magnitsky ceremony, in which he rejected both the shah and the mullahs and called for democratic change through the Iranian people’s struggle.
Hope for freedom beyond prison walls
Mehdi concluded his message with a declaration of confidence that Iran would eventually achieve freedom, even if those currently imprisoned did not live to witness it.
“Whether we are there to witness it or not, that day will surely come. Blessed, then, are those who refused to bow their heads and stood firm, for freedom is truly the greatest prize they deserve.”
His words capture the shared determination of two cousins held in separate prisons, one facing execution and the other enduring years of incarceration, who continue to speak of freedom despite the repression they face.