Case Fabrication Against Mahmoud Ghanbari-Rad, Network Security Expert, Under Pressure to Accept Fabricated Charges
In continuation of the escalating trend of arrests of citizens, experts, and civil activists on security charges in Iran, Mahmoud Ghanbari-Rad, a 40-year-old network security specialist and Tehran resident, faces accusations including “providing information to Israel.” From within prison, he has described these charges as “fabricated” and stated that he is being pressured by security agencies to accept confessions they desire. This case has once again intensified concerns about the Islamic Republic’s use of security charges to build cases against critics and ordinary citizens.
According to information released by human rights sources, Mahmoud Ghanbari-Rad, after being arrested by security forces in Tehran, spent approximately one month in solitary confinement and underwent intensive interrogations in security detention centers before being transferred to Tehran’s main prison (Fashafuyeh).
This information technology specialist now faces a series of serious charges including “assembly and conspiracy against national security,” “collecting classified information,” and “providing information to Israel.” However, in a brief phone call from prison, he has emphasized that the case filed against him is “completely fabricated” and that interrogators are pressuring him to accept these charges.
Ghanbari-Rad’s case comes at a time when Islamic Republic authorities have repeatedly reported in recent months the arrest of individuals accused of connections to Israel or collaboration with Mossad. International media have reported that Iran’s judicial and security apparatus have pursued dozens of people on such charges, with some facing severe punishments.
However, human rights activists believe that many of these cases are formed in non-transparent circumstances without adherence to principles of fair trial procedures. One of the most significant concerns is the deprivation of defendants of access to independent lawyers, prolonged detention in solitary confinement, and pressure to extract forced confessions—issues that have also been raised by sources close to Mahmoud Ghanbari-Rad’s case.
Critics of the Islamic Republic say that security agencies have long used vague and unproven charges such as “espionage,” “cooperation with hostile states,” or “actions against national security” to silence independent voices, create an atmosphere of terror, and justify arbitrary arrests. In their view, whenever the government faces internal crises or external pressures, the scope of such case fabrications also expands.
Mahmoud Ghanbari-Rad, who is married, has been denied access to his chosen lawyer since his arrest, and his family faces extensive restrictions in pursuing information about the case. In the absence of a transparent and independent judicial process, concerns about his fate and the likelihood of forced confessions being imposed remain.
This technology specialist’s case is not merely an individual matter; rather, it is an example of a process through which security charges have become a tool for controlling society, intimidating citizens, and suppressing dissenting voices—a process that has been repeatedly criticized by domestic and international human rights organizations.
