Family of death-row political prisoner Babak Alipour detained, whereabouts unknown

Hengaw – Saturday, January 31, 2026

Three members of the family of Babak Alipour, a political prisoner sentenced to death, have been arrested by Iranian government forces and taken to an undisclosed location. Those detained are his brother Roozbeh Alipour, his sister Maryam Alipour, and his mother Ommolbanin Dehghan. They have been held incommunicado for 36 days, and no information is available regarding their fate or whereabouts.

Based on information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the three family members were arrested while returning from a visit with Babak Alipour at Evin Prison in Tehran on Saturday, December 27, 2025.

Informed sources said that despite the passage of more than five weeks since their arrest, authorities have provided no information about the location or condition of the detainees. Efforts by relatives to obtain clarification from security and judicial authorities have reportedly remained unsuccessful.

Babak Alipour, a political prisoner from Rasht, was sentenced to death last autumn alongside five other political prisoners on the charge of “armed rebellion” (baghi), in connection with alleged membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. He was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on charges of “assembly and collusion with intent to disrupt national security,” as well as 20 years of internal exile to Khash on charges of “destruction of public property.”

He was arrested by Iranian government forces in Tehran in the autumn of 2023.