Afshin Ellian (born 27 February 1966 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-born Dutch professor of law, philosopher, poet, and critic of political Islam.

Other prominent persons defending the truthfulness of Ellian's case include the Nobel Prize winner of Literature Mario Vargas Llosa.

He obtained a PhD from the University of Tilburg in 2003, The title of his doctoral dissertation is: "An Investigation into the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa".

[8] In this research he focused on the political transition sparked by the South-African Truth and Reconciliation Commission; questions pertaining to both international criminal law and legal philosophy.

It is worth to bring to attention for those who are interested in this topic that a further reading on this can be found in a later academic book wherein he has contributed by means of his article titled “Political Transition to a Democratic Regime: The South African Echoes of Forgiveness, Truth Commission and Negotiating Justice”.

Ellian was a regular columnist for NRC Handelsblad, and makes appearances on political discussion programs on Dutch television.

Following the 2009 Iranian presidential election, Ellian wrote an open letter to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran.

[10] The letter was published by German magazine Der Spiegel, Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal,[11] and Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad.