Filmmaker Davoud Abbasi Qeshlaqi sentenced to prison over January protests

Hengaw – Monday, July 13, 2026

Filmmaker Davoud Abbasi Qeshlaqi has been sentenced to 20 months in prison. He was arrested during the January 2026 protests.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Abbasi, 40, was recently tried by Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj and sentenced to a total of 20 months in prison.

Sources familiar with the case said the court sentenced him to 14 months in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against the country’s internal security” and an additional six months on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”

Under Article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, which governs multiple convictions, only the most severe sentence is enforceable. According to the verdict, 12 months of the 14-month sentence were suspended for two years, while the remaining portion will be calculated after crediting the time he has already spent in detention. The ruling was issued on June 10, 2026, and was recently served on him.

Abbasi was arrested on January 10, 2026, during protests and strikes in Karaj. Security forces used severe force during his arrest before transferring him to Ghezel Hesar Prison.