December Protests – Nine Kurds arrested across multiple cities
Hengaw – Saturday, January 17, 2026
At least nine Kurdish individuals have been arrested by Iranian government forces in the cities of Lomar, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Marivan, and Urmia.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights has confirmed their identities as Ali Delfrouz, Iraj Rahimzadeh, Mohammad Javidan, Hossein Moradi, Jalil Moradi, Kia Moradi, Abdollah Rezaei, Navid Abdollahi, and Ashkan Kalakiz.
Ali Delfrouz, 37, from Ivan County in Ilam Province, was arrested on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, during a raid on his home. Iranian forces used violence during the arrest, searched his residence, and confiscated personal belongings, including his mobile phone and laptop.
On the same day, Iraj Rahimzadeh, a civil activist and former political prisoner from Marivan, was arrested by government forces in the city.
Earlier, three residents of Lomar were arrested by government forces on Tuesday, January 13. They have been identified as Mohammad Javidan, a social media blogger known online as “Black Scorpion,” along with Hossein Moradi and Jalil Moradi.
Javidan had previously been detained during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.
Kia Moradi, 18, from Sanandaj, was arrested on Monday, January 11. He is the nephew of Peyman Manbari, who was killed during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.
Separately, Abdollah Rezaei, a teachers’ union activist in Kermanshah and a member of Iran’s Teachers’ Trade Associations Coordination Council, was arrested on Thursday, January 8.
In continuation of the recent wave of arrests, on Saturday, December 26, 2025, Navid Abdollahi, from the village of Kani Dinar near Marivan, was arrested during a raid by Ministry of Intelligence forces on his home. Twenty-two days after his arrest, his fate and place of detention remain unknown. Abdollahi had previously been detained during the protests of November 2019.
Additionally, in recent days, Ashkan Kalakiz, 33, from the village of Jalgaran near Urmia, was arrested by government forces and taken to an undisclosed location.
No information has been made available regarding the whereabouts, conditions of detention, or charges against any of the detainees.
