Javad Alikurdi remains detained five months after arrest over brother’s death

Hengaw – Saturday, May 2, 2026

Javad Alikurdi, a Kurdish man from Sabzevar and the brother of the late lawyer Khosrow Alikurdi, remains in detention at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad nearly five months after his arrest. He continues to be held in legal limbo and deprived of basic legal rights.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Alikurdi was recently tried at a branch of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad without access to a defense lawyer. Despite the holding of a preliminary hearing, judicial authorities have so far refused to grant him bail for temporary release.

Javad Alikurdi was arrested on the evening of Friday, December 12, 2025, after publishing a video protesting the mass detention of mourners during the seventh-day memorial ceremony for his brother. In the video, he warned that he would release confidential information regarding the suspicious death of his brother if those detained were not freed.

Khosrow Alikurdi, a lawyer and former political prisoner who had represented numerous families seeking justice, died under suspicious circumstances at his office on December 5, 2025. While authorities attributed his death to cardiac arrest, signs including unusual bleeding and possible physical injury have raised serious doubts about the official account.