Deborah Düring, a member of Germany's Bundestag and foreign policy spokeswoman of the Greens parliamentary group, announced on Thursday 5 November 2026 that she has taken on the political sponsorship of Rashid Mazaheri, the former goalkeeper of Iran's national football team. Mazaheri has been held in solitary confinement in Urmia prison for months.
Düring called for the immediate and unconditional release of the player and an end to his solitary confinement, saying Mazaheri is imprisoned solely for freely expressing his opinion. Political sponsorship is a well-known practice in Germany for publicly following the cases of political prisoners: the sponsoring MP keeps the prisoner's case alive in parliament and in the media.
An Instagram message and the arrest
Mazaheri, who played for Esteghlal, Sepahan and Zob Ahan and was part of the national team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, held Ali Khamenei responsible for the killing of Dey uprising protesters in an Instagram message on 24 February 2026. After that his family lost contact with him.
Maryam Abdollahi, his wife, said on 19 May 2026 that her husband was in very harsh conditions in solitary confinement in Urmia prison. The next day the Islamic Republic's judiciary confirmed his arrest and claimed he had been detained while illegally crossing the western border.
Back in solitary confinement
Mazaheri's wife said on 24 October that he had been moved back to solitary confinement after protesting against prison guards insulting historical figures of Iran. His charges and any sentence have not yet been officially announced, and human rights organisations have warned that he is at risk of a death sentence.
Since the Dey uprising the Islamic Republic has sentenced dozens of protesters to death, including Matin Shabani in Mashhad and Arman Marefati, whose sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court.
Rashid Mazaheri has spent months in solitary confinement in Urmia over an Instagram message about the killing of the Dey protesters.
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