Kurdish man Soran Sohrabi detained in Mahabad, accused of espionage by Iranian authorities

Hengaw — Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Iranian intelligence forces have detained a Kurdish man, Soran Sohrabi, in Mahabad and accused him of espionage.

Accordimg to information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Sohrabi, about 30, was arrested around two weeks ago by agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence unit and transferred to a detention facility in Urmia.

He remains in detention without formal charges and under pressure, sources close to his family said.

Authorities have accused him of “spying for Israel,” the sources said, but have not provided clear information about his condition or exact place of detention despite repeated inquiries from his family.

Sohrabi is the brother of Arslan Sohrabi, a former Kurdish political prisoner who was previously sentenced to death on charges of cooperation with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan. The sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment, and he was released on bail in July 2024 after serving seven years in Urmia Central Prison.