Brother of executed 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protester arrested in Kermanshah

Hengaw — Sunday, January 25, 2026

Mehrdad Rasaei, a Kurdish adherent of the Yarsan faith from Kermanshah (Kermashan), and the brother of Reza Rasaei—one of those executed in connection with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement—has been arrested by Iranian authorities.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Mehrdad Rasaei, a member of a justice-seeking family, has been in detention for the past 17 days and has been transferred to Dizelabad Prison in Kermanshah.

Hengaw has learned that Rasaei was arrested at his home on Thursday, January 8, 2026, coinciding with protests, by Iranian government forces.

Reza Rasaei, a Kurdish political prisoner and adherent of the Yarsan faith who was arrested during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) movement in Sahneh, was secretly executed at Dizelabad Prison in Kermanshah on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.