21 people arrested across Iran by government forces
Hengaw – Thursday, January 22, 2026
Ar least 21 people have been arrested in recent days across several Iranian cities by government forces and transferred to undisclosed locations.
According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, those detained include Ali Babaei, Ahad Farahmand, and Yashar Tabrizi from Tabriz; Arash Nikkhoo and Babak Armin from Dehdasht in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province; Yasin Yarahmadi from Borujerd; Mohsen Shojaei from Yasuj; Manouchehr Bakhtiari from Bandar Abbas; Bahrang Norouzi from Rasht; Mohammad-Hadi Jafarpoor, a lawyer from Shiraz; Abdolreza Ghandehari from Nishapur; Alireza Badi'alzaman, Zahed Abolhassani, Fereydoon Sanei, and Shahbaz Ghaffari from Daran in Isfahan Province; Reza Ariamehri, Erfan Ghasemi, Erfan Mavassati, and Hassan-Reza Mahour from Tehran; and Masoud Moradi and Iman Heidari from Bushehr.
Manouchehr Bakhtiari, political activist and the father of Pouya Bakhtiari, who was killed during the November 2019 protests, was arrested by government forces in Bandar Abbas on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
On the same day, Arash Nikkhoo, a teacher and environmental activist from Dehdasht, was also arrested and transferred to an undisclosed location. Babak Armin, another resident of Dehdasht, had previously been detained and remains in unknown custody.
Mohammad-Hadi Jafarpoor, a lawyer from Shiraz, was arrested and taken to an undisclosed location on Monday, January 19.
Erfan Mavassati, secretary of the Islamic Students Association at the Faculty of Dentistry, was detained by government forces on Sunday night, January 11.
No information has been made available regarding his fate or whereabouts.
Between January 8 and 10, Alireza Badi'alzaman, Zahed Abolhassani, Fereydoon Sanei, and Shahbaz Ghaffari, four residents of Daran in Isfahan Province, were arrested during protests in the city.
Erfan Ghasemi, 37; Reza Ariamehri, 30; and Hassan-Reza Mahour, 65, were arrested during protests in Tehran on the evening of Thursday, January 8. Hengaw has learned that Reza Ariamehri was detained after being shot in the leg.
In recent days, Masoud Moradi, a singer from Bushehr, was arrested for what authorities described as “supporting the December protests.” At the same time, Iman Heidari, a blogger from Bushehr, was also detained.
Yashar Tabrizi, a civil activist, was arrested in Tabriz on January 10. In addition, Ali Babaei and Ahad Farahmand, two other civil activists from the city, were arrested in recent days.
Bahrang Norouzi, a Gilak resident of Rasht, was arrested during a raid by intelligence forces on his home on Saturday, January 10. He was transferred to an undisclosed location.
Yasin Yarahmadi, a resident of Borujerd in Lorestan Province, was arrested and taken to an unknown location on Thursday night, January 8. No information has since been made available regarding his condition.
Hengaw has also learned that Mohsen Shojaei, a resident of Yasuj, has been arrested in recent days by government forces, though the charges against him remain unclear.
