Iranian security forces in Tehran arrested wildlife conservationists Houman Jowkar and Sepideh Kashani, alongside Sepideh’s sister, Sima Kashani, on July 1, 2026, according to reports from multiple Iranian news sources. Jowkar and Sepideh, who are married, are experts on the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and were previously arrested in 2018 on espionage charges related to their alleged use of camera traps. The cheetah subspecies, found only in Iran, is believed to have fewer than 30 individuals  remaining in the wild. Hojjat Kermani, the trio’s attorney, told media that security agents confiscated electronic devices during a raid at the couple’s residence, before taking all three into custody. The conservation NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) expressed “profound concern and alarm” over the detentions. It urged Iranian authorities to clarify the group’s legal status and whereabouts. Mongabay previously reported that Jowkar and Sepideh were members of the now-defunct Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF), a Tehran-based conservation organization. They were among a group of eight conservationists arrested in January 2018 on charges alleging use of wildlife camera traps for the purpose of spying on Iran, including monitoring the country’s missile program. Those 2018 charges were widely condemned by the international scientific community as baseless. One of the arrested researchers, Kavous Seyed Emami, died in custody with Iranian authorities saying the death was a suicide, a claim doubted by Seyed Emami’s family. Jowkar and Sepideh were eventually pardoned and released in April 2024 after serving six years in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Authorities…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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