Seven Arab religious prisoners sentenced to 31 years in prison

Hengaw – Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Seven Sunni Arab prisoners held in Ahvaz Central Prison (Sepidar), identified as Khalil Khazraji, Ali Khazraji, Ali Barwayeh, Abbas Hamadi, Hossein Silavi, Abdolmajid Hashemi, and Younes Gharbavi, have been sentenced to a combined total of 31 years in prison.

According to information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court sentenced Khalil, Ali Khazraji, Barwayeh, Hamadi, and Silavi, both Hamadi and Silavi being fathers of two, to five years in prison each. Hashemi and Gharbavi, the latter a father of three, were each sentenced to three years.

No official information has been made available regarding the specific charges or evidence used against these seven Sunni Arab prisoners.

The men were arrested by agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization on January 6, 2025, and were later transferred to Ward 8 of Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz.

Hengaw has learned that all seven were subjected to torture and ill-treatment during detention to extract forced confessions.