Abolfazl Salehi at risk of heavy sentences after forced televised confession

Hengaw – Saturday, January 31, 2026

Iranian authorities have subjected a Kurdish man detained during the latest protests in Mashhad to severe torture and forced him to confess on camera, placing him at risk of serious charges and heavy sentences. The man is Abolfazl Salehi, a 20-year-old resident of Mashhad.

Based on information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Salehi is among the recent detainees in the city and remains at serious risk to his life and physical safety while in custody.

Individuals close to him told Hengaw that Iran’s state television Channel 5 broadcast a video containing Salehi’s forced confession. The airing of this footage has intensified concerns that judicial authorities may pursue severe charges against him, including “waging war against God” (moharebeh), which carries the risk of harsh punishment.

Salehi has been accused of involvement in the arson of a police station at the Telecommunications Square intersection in Mashhad. Hengaw warns that such allegations, when combined with a televised confession extracted under torture, may be used to justify an unfair trial and the imposition of heavy judicial sentences.