Brother of late lawyer Khosrow Alikurdi arrested after warning over 'secret text'
Hengaw — Friday, December 12, 2025
Javad Alikurdi, the brother of Khosrow Alikurdi, a lawyer and former political prisoner who died under suspicious circumstances, was arrested shortly after warning that he would release a “secret text” if those detained during his brother’s memorial ceremony were not released.
According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Alikurdi was arrested on the evening of Friday, December 12, 2025, in Mashhad by government forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and transferred to an undisclosed location.
Prior to his arrest, Alikurdi published a video message addressed to state authorities, calling for the immediate release of activists and public figures detained during the seventh-day memorial ceremony for his brother. He warned that if they were not released, he would “drink the cup of martyrdom” and disclose what he described as a “secret text.”
His remarks referred to the detention of at least 16 individuals, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, two members of the Alikurdi family, members of families seeking justice, and several former political prisoners who were arrested during the ceremony in Mashhad.
Hengaw has confirmed that those detained include Narges Mohammadi; Pouran Nazemi, Alieh Motalebzadeh, Sepideh Gholian, Hasti Amiri, and Abolfazl Abri, all former political prisoners; Habib Fadaei, Asadollah Fakhimi, and Akbar Amini, political activists; Ali Adinehzadeh and Reza Adinehzadeh, members of families seeking justice associated with the Woman, Life, Freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) movement; as well as Davoud Alikurdi and Ahmad Alikurdi, relatives of Khosrow Alikurdi.
Khosrow Alikurdi had faced years of security pressure and judicial prosecution before his death on Friday, December 5, 2025, inside his law office.
While authorities stated that he died of a heart attack, accounts from relatives and fellow lawyers, including reports of unusual bleeding and indications of possible physical injury, have raised serious questions regarding the official explanation for his death.
