[3] In 2001, he was imprisoned for his articles critical of Iranian leadership, a move condemned by numerous human rights and journalism organizations.
[7] In 2000, Pourzand's wife Mehrangiz Kar, also a critic of the Iranian government, was arrested for her participation in a conference at Berlin's Heinrich Böll Foundation titled "Iran after the elections", at which various reform proposals were debated;[3] she ultimately served a 52-day prison term.
On 29 November 2001, days after reportedly seeing men following him on motorcycles,[8] Pourzand was kidnapped by members of the Amaken, agents of Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prohibition of Vice, shortly after leaving his sister's apartment.
[5] On 7 December, one of his sisters was requested by government officials to bring him a change of clothes, but was reportedly told that his whereabouts were "none of her business".
[5] Immediately before the trial, Pourzand's daughter reported that her father had called her in the United States to say that the family should "treat him as if he were dead".
[4] Human Rights Watch similarly denounced the trial as a "mockery of the law", and "of a pattern of repression against reformist and independent figures that has gathered momentum since February's 2000 parliamentary elections".
"[7] Banafsheh also alleged that state security forces continued to threaten the family by telephone, saying "Now that we're rid of your father... don't go thinking you can fill his place.
[6] Leili and Azadeh Pourzand appeared on the Voice of America's Persian program Parazit, explaining how they found out about their father's death.
[15] On September 30, 2022, Judge John Bates ordered that Iran is liable for torturing and hostage taking of Mr. Pourzand.