Hengaw identifies 31 of those arrested at memorial for Khosrow Alikurdi in Mashhad
Hengaw — Saturday, December 13, 2025
At least 40 civilians and civil, political, and human-rights activists were arrested in connection with a memorial ceremony for Khosrow Alikurdi, a Kurdish lawyer who died under suspicious circumstances. Hengaw has so far verified the identities of 31 detainees.
According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, government forces raided the memorial ceremony held in Mashhad for Alikurdi, a lawyer from Sabzevar, on Friday, December 12, 2025. During the raid, security forces arrested at least 40 people, including Narges Mohammadi, a former political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, six members of the Alikurdi family, former political prisoners, civil activists, and members of justice-seeking families.
The verified list of detainees includes: Narges Mohammadi; Pouran Nazemi; Alieh Motalebzadeh; Sepideh Gholian; Hasti Amiri; Abolfazl Abri; Ali Adinehzadeh; Javad Alikurdi; Davoud Alikurdi; Ahmad Alikurdi; Behrouz Alikurdi; Iraj Alikurdi; and Mojtaba Alikurdi, Kurdish civilians and members of Khosrow Alikurdi’s family; Noura Haghi; Hassan Bagheri-Nia; Kamal Jafar-Yazdi; Mohammad-Hossein Hosseini, a footballer and one of those previously detained during the Woman, Life, Freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) movement; Javad Jalali; Mahmoud Khanali; Amir Khavari; Hamed Hosseini; and Heidar Chah-Chamandi, two social activists; Taybeh Nazari, the mother of Maryam Arvin, who was killed during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement; as well as Milad Fattah; Yasser Dehestan; Pouria Najjarzadeh; Hamed Rasoulkhani; Mehdi Rasoulkhani; Hossein Mohabbi; Mohammadreza Babaei; and Hamed Zarei.
Later on Friday evening, shortly after the ceremony and the arrest of several participants, Javad Alikurdi, the brother of Khosrow Alikurdi, was arrested at his workplace in Mashhad along with three other family members, Iraj, Behrouz, and Mojtaba Alikurdi. Hours earlier, he had released a video warning government institutions that activists and public figures detained at his brother’s memorial must be released, stating that he would otherwise publish what he described as a “confidential document.”
Reports indicate that some detainees were transferred to Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad after bail was set, while others were sent there under temporary detention orders.
Marzieh Adinehzadeh, the daughter of Ali Adinehzadeh, stated in a social-media post that her father briefly contacted the family and identified the Law Enforcement Command as the arresting authority. She said detainees were subjected to severe physical violence during their arrest.
Meanwhile, several families of detainees, including the brother of Sepideh Gholian, reported that they have received no information about their relatives’ whereabouts and that detainees have been denied contact with their families.
The public and revolutionary prosecutor of Mashhad later announced that 39 people had been arrested in connection with the memorial ceremony. Hassan Hemmati-Far told state-run media that the arrests were made over what he described as “norm-breaking behavior,” and claimed that two law-enforcement officers were injured during the event.
Hengaw clarifies that earlier reports had mistakenly listed Asadollah Fakhimi, Akbar Amini, and Reza Adinehzadeh as detainees due to lack of confirmed information following the raid. All three later returned home the same evening. Hengaw has corrected the report accordingly and apologizes for the error.
Khosrow Alikurdi had faced years of security pressure and judicial harassment. He died under suspicious circumstances inside his law office on Friday, December 5, 2025. While authorities claimed he suffered a heart attack, accounts from relatives and fellow lawyers citing unusual bleeding and possible physical injury raised serious doubts about the official explanation.
Alikurdi was buried in his hometown of Abdolabad, Sabzevar, on Sunday, December 7, 2025. During the funeral ceremony, his brother Javad Alikurdi emphasized his ethical and humanitarian commitment, noting that he spent years defending marginalized individuals, taking on complex cases, and enduring sustained security pressure.
