Appeals court upholds prison sentences of Pedram Cheraghzadeh and Shayan Moradi Motlaq

Hengaw – Saturday, June 13, 2026

The Khuzestan Province Court of Appeals has upheld the prison sentences of Pedram Cheraghzadeh and Shayan Moradi Motlaq, two Lor protesters arrested during the January protests. Together, the two men have been sentenced by the Iranian Judiciary to a total of four years and one day in prison.

Based on reports received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Branch 16 of the Khuzestan Province Court of Appeals upheld a two-year discretionary prison sentence imposed on Pedram Cheraghzadeh on charges of “disrupting public order.” According to the ruling communicated to his lawyer, Hossein-Ali Hatami, the appeals court removed the supplementary punishments included in the lower court's verdict.

In the initial proceedings, Branch One of the General Court sentenced Cheraghzadeh, citing a note to Article 286 of the Islamic Penal Code, to two years in prison, a two-year travel ban, and one year of mandatory attendance at the Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The precise basis for the charges against him remains unclear.

Cheraghzadeh was arrested during the Khuzestan protests on January 8, 2026, and was temporarily released on bail of two billion tomans on April 9, 2026, following the completion of interrogations.

Meanwhile, Branch Two of the Khuzestan Province Court of Appeals upheld in full the two-year and one-day discretionary prison sentence imposed on Shayan Moradi Motlaq, another detainee arrested during the January protests in Izeh.

Moradi Motlaq had previously been convicted by Branch One of the Izeh General Court on charges of “disrupting public order” and sentenced to two years and one day in prison. The ruling has now become final.

Government forces arrested Moradi Motlaq during protests in Izeh on January 19, 2026. He was later released on bail of one billion tomans on February 9, 2026, pending the completion of judicial proceedings.