Kurdish man, Arsalan Yousefi arrested to serve five-year prison sentence in Bukan

Hengaw: Sunday, January 19, 2025

Arsalan Yousefi, a Kurdish man from Bukan, has been arrested and transferred to the city’s central prison to serve a five-year prison sentence following his appearance at the Enforcement Branch.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the 32-year-old resident of the village of Salamat in Bukan County was taken into custody on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Sources confirmed that Yousefi had been summoned on January 10, 2025, to initiate his sentence.

Yousefi was sentenced by Branch 101 of the Bukan Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Keshvari, to five years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the government,” “insulting Khamenei,” and “insulting Islamic sanctities.” The sentence was later upheld by the appeals court.

His initial arrest occurred on Saturday, August 5, 2023, when security forces arrested him without a warrant. During the arrest, his personal vehicle and mobile phone were confiscated.