By Kayhan Life Staff
Human rights groups raised the alarm over the sudden death of Khosrow Alikordi, a prominent defense attorney in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad. Alikordi,45, who was widely known for representing families of slain protesters and political detainees, was found dead in his office on Friday, December 4, 2025.
Initial accounts circulated by authorities attributed his death to cardiac arrest. But several witnesses and fellow lawyers have alleged evidence of a violent attack, citing visible head injuries and bleeding. They also reported that security forces quickly seized all surveillance footage from the building.
Marzieh Mohebi, an attorney who has worked on political cases, wrote on the social platform X that credible sources believe Alikordi died from a blow to the head. She said Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has refused to provide his family with information about the circumstances of his death. Other online reports echoed claims of physical trauma and the removal of security cameras.
The legal advocacy group Dadban called the circumstances “suspicious,” noting Alikordi’s years of work on behalf of families of protesters killed or detained during recent nationwide unrest. The group described him as a central figure in Iran’s human rights community who had long been subjected to state harassment, including imprisonment and disbarment.
Alikordi had represented many prominent political activists, including Fatemeh and Mohammad-Hossein Sepehri, a sister and brother who are vocal critics of the Islamic Republic and its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He had also represented families of protesters killed during the 2022 crackdown. His legal work frequently drew retaliation from judicial and security agencies. He was accused of “propaganda against the state” and “acting in favor of opposition groups.” The charges carried a prison sentence, bans on practicing law and traveling, digital restrictions, and removal from his doctoral program.
In January 2024, Alikordi publicly announced his conviction and criticized the disciplinary ruling that punished him for sharing details of his clients’ cases. Weeks later, he was detained again and held in Mashhad’s Vakilabad Prison before being released under open-prison conditions.
Alikordi had also filed formal complaints accusing three judicial officials of obstructing defendants’ access to counsel and showing political bias. In September 2025, he disclosed that his university had expelled him from his Ph.D. program because of his imprisonment, after being barred from a master’s program in 2010 for political reasons.
His death comes at a time of heightened pressure on Iranian lawyers who take on politically sensitive cases. Rights groups say it underscores the risks faced by attorneys attempting to challenge state abuses or defend those targeted in the government’s ongoing crackdown.
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