Vahid Asghari, is an Iranian political prisoner, advocate for freedom of expression and a women’s rights activist. He was detained by a group of Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC) commandos on May 8, 2008, on his way to the Imam Khomeini International Airport, because of his human rights activities and held in solitary confinement for two years without trial. He was sentenced to death twice by the chairman of the 15th Chamber of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, Judge Abolqassem Salavati, in 2011 and 2012, without participating in the court proceedings and without the freedom to choose his own lawyer. International human rights organizations are following Asghari’s case as he remains in custody.

Evin Prison is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for the housing of Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "Evin University" due to the number of students and intellectuals housed there. Evin Prison has been accused of committing "serious human rights abuses" against its political dissidents and critics of the government.