Arya Yousefi, Son of Fatemeh Davand, Arrested by Iranian Security Forces After Deportation from Turkey to Iran
Hengaw: Friday, August 16, 2024
Arya Yousefi, the son of former political prisoner Fatemeh Davand and one of those arrested during the November 2019 protests, who was recently at risk of being deported to Iran, has been arrested by the Iranian security forces and transferred to the Iranian Intelligence Office in Maku.
According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on the evening of Tuesday, August 13, 2024, 18-year-old Arya Yousefi from Bukan was handed over to Iranian security forces by Turkey. He was subsequently arrested at the Maku border and transferred to the Intelligence Office in that city.
A source close to the Yousefi family stated that Arya has not had any contact with his family so far, and only the Intelligence Office in Maku has contacted his family to inform them that he is being held at their detention center.
It is noteworthy that on the evening of that Tuesday, Arya Yousefi, along with his mother Fatemeh Davand—who was among those arrested during the November 2019 protests—and several other political activists, were deported to Iran via the Bazargan border. Arya was arrested by Iranian security forces, while his mother managed to escape.
On March 11, 2022, the Iranian government forcibly arrested 15-year-old Arya Yousefi, employing violence and beatings in a public place in Bukan. He was subsequently transferred to Urmia Central Prison and sentenced to five months of imprisonment on charges of "propaganda against the regime."
