Teenage protest detainee Nima Araban held in legal limbo after execution of co-defendant Abbas Akbari

Hengaw – Thursday, May 28, 2026

Nima Araban, a 17-year-old detained during the January 2026 protests in Naein, Isfahan Province, has remained imprisoned at the Isfahan Juvenile Correction and Rehabilitation Center for more than four months without any clear legal resolution to his case. The recent execution of his co-defendant, Abbas Akbari Feyzabadi, has deepened concerns over his fate.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Nima Araban was arrested by Iranian security forces during the January protests in Naein in a joint case alongside Abbas Akbari Feyzabadi, the political prisoner who was recently executed. Since then, he has remained detained without access to a fair and transparent judicial process.

Sources close to the family told Hengaw that Araban is currently 17 years and 9 months old and only three months away from turning 18. Following the sudden execution of Abbas Akbari Feyzabadi on May 25, 2026, his family and relatives fear that the Iranian judiciary may be intentionally delaying the legal proceedings in order to issue severe sentences against him once he reaches legal adulthood.

The prolonged detention of this teenage protester in a state of uncertainty, combined with the atmosphere of security-driven accusations that resulted in the execution of his co-defendant under allegations of being the “armed leader of the Naein protests,” amounts to severe psychological pressure on both Araban and his family.

Under international law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child — to which Iran is a signatory — individuals under the age of 18 are entitled to special legal protections during detention and prosecution. Nevertheless, the Iranian judiciary has repeatedly violated these safeguards in political and security-related cases involving minors.