On November 3, 2025, Iranian security forces confiscated the belongings of Mohammed Maljoo and summoned him for questioning in apparent retaliation for public comments that he made about the roots of extremism in Iran. Maljoo’s whereabouts were publicly unknown after he went to the location for questioning.
Maljoo is an independent researcher living in Tehran. He was previously a visiting researcher at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam. His academic work involves critical analysis of Iran’s post-revolution economic history. Maljoo’s questioning occurred a few days after he appeared on a YouTube debate discussing the roots of extremism in Iran. During the debate, Maljoo suggested that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had empowered ultrahardliners in the country.
In the months following a 12-day war between Iran and Israel that took place in June 2025, Iranian authoritarians targeted academics, journalists, and intellectuals in an attempt to censor public debate. Maljoo’s detention fits into this pattern. It also occurred on the same day as the arrests or disappearances of several other researchers and writers whose work focuses social justice issues, including labor rights, gender equality, and economic inequality, including Mahsa Asadollahnejad (see report), Parviz Sedaghat (see report), Shirin Karimi, and Heyman Rahimi.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the intimidation of a scholar in connection to his academic research and nonviolent expression—conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, such incidents have a chilling effect on academic freedom and undermine democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://pen.org/press-release/shocking-arrests-of-writers-in-iran/
https://iranhumanrights.org/2025/11/writers-and-scholars-arrested-and-held-incommunicado-in-iran/
https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/2025/11/07/letter-to-iranian-authorities-regarding-arrests-and-harassment-of-independent-scholars
https://en.radiozamaneh.com/37358/
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202511038448
https://www.radiozamaneh.com/868527/
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202511057850
https://en.radiozamaneh.com/37367/