Two-year prison sentence upheld for student protest detainee Ali Taherikia

Hengaw – Saturday, June 13, 2026

An appeals court in Tehran has upheld the two-year prison sentence issued against Ali Taherikia, a master’s student in directing at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran and one of those arrested during the January protests.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the Tehran Province Court of Appeals rejected Taherikia’s appeal and upheld the lower court’s verdict in full. He had previously been sentenced by a branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to two years in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion to act against national security.”

According to informed sources, the initial trial lasted less than 10 minutes and failed to meet basic fair trial standards. The presiding judge issued the sentence without presenting sufficient evidence or legal justification.

Taherikia was arrested by Iranian security forces on January 3, 2026, during a wave of detentions linked to the protests.

Student organizations and the Student Council of the University of Tehran’s Faculty of Fine Arts had previously stated that Taherikia was arrested inside a university dormitory complex, away from any protest gatherings. They further asserted that he was subsequently held in Great Tehran Penitentiary without any legitimate legal basis for his detention.