Iranian state forces arrest 29 protesters, including women, children, and Kurdish and Lor residents, amid ongoing protests

Hengaw – Thursday, January 1, 2026

Iranian authorities have arrested at least 29 protesters amid the ongoing wave of protests across Iran. Those detained include include 14 Kurds, 7 Lors, 7 women, and two children, in the cities of Esfarayen, Dehloran, Darrehshahr, Izeh, Baghmalek, Yasuj, and Kermanshah.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, three Lor residents — Pezhman Pegah from Baghmalek, and Pouria Key Shams (20) and Hesam Mohammadi (16) from Izeh — were arrested on Thursday, January 1, 2026.

On the same day, two Kurdish men from Darrehshahr in Ilam Province — Bijan Karimian (21) and Mohammad Hasanvand (21) — were detained by government forces. Later that evening, Ali Ghoidel, a Kurdish resident of Esfarayen in North Khorasan Province, was also arrested.

At least 10 Kurdish residents of Dehloran were detained on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. They have been identified as Akbar Darvishi, Aref Darvishi, Mohammad Havasi, Sepehr Salehi, Amir Raeofi, Ehsan Maleki, Milad Kiadi, Farzad Shokri, Abolfazl Shadfar, and Sharif Azad. In addition, Shayan Asl-Marz (18) from Darreh Shahr was arrested.

Simultaneously, Motin Koshkbaghi (23) from Sabzevar (Razavi Khorasan Province), Razieh Khahesh, a Lor protester from Yasuj, and Kurdish activist Salman Mirzaei from Kermanshah were taken into custody.

In Tehran, six women protesters — Negar Ghanbari, Helna Rostami, Elnaz Kari, Ma’soumeh Nouri, Fatemeh Hashempour, and a woman identified only as Aida — were detained during demonstrations on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, and subsequently transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Shapour Alborzi, Arman Soleimani (28), and Nemat Heydari, all Lor residents of Izeh in Khuzestan Province, were abducted by security forces.

Hengaw expresses deep concern about the safety and legal status of the detainees, many of whom are being held in unknown locations, without access to lawyers or contact with their families, in violation of fundamental due-process standards.

These arrests take place amid protests that began on December 28, 2025, triggered by severe currency devaluation, worsening economic hardship, and deteriorating living conditions. State forces have responded with widespread repression, including mass arrests and the use of violence against demonstrators.