Mehdi Karimi detained in Ilam, forced to make confessions under torture

Hengaw – Sunday, June 21, 2026

Mehdi Karimi, a Kurdish resident of Malekshahi and one of the symbolic figures of the January protests, was violently arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents in Ilam Province. Following his arrest, he was subjected to severe beatings and torture and forced to make self-incriminating confessions, footage of which has since been aired by state-affiliated media.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Ministry of Intelligence agents arrested Karimi with violence in the city of Mehran on Thursday, June 18, 2026, before transferring him to an undisclosed location.

During the January 2026 protests in Malekshahi, a photograph of Karimi circulated widely on social media, showing him in a symbolic act of protest while seated on a chair outside the city's governorate building. Following the publication of the image, Iranian authorities pursued him for four months.

Sources familiar with the case state that Karimi was severely beaten during his arrest. State-affiliated media subsequently aired footage of his forced confessions.

The Ministry of Intelligence had previously announced the arrest of at least 17 individuals in Ilam Province. In its statement, the agency referred to Mehdi Karimi under the pseudonym “Mehdi-K.”

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights has not yet independently verified the identities or circumstances of the other individuals mentioned in the Ministry of Intelligence statement.