Zahra Rabbani, detained at 17 during January protests, sentenced to prison

Hengaw – Wednesday, August 19, 2026

An Iranian court has sentenced Zahra Rabbani, an 18-year-old Kurdish woman from Bojnord detained during the January protests, to 15 months and two days in prison and a fine. She was 17 at the time of her arrest.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Branch 107 of the Bojnord Criminal Court II sentenced Rabbani to a total of 15 months and two days in prison and six million tomans in fines. Under sentencing rules, only the most severe prison term, seven months and 16 days, is enforceable.

Rabbani received seven months and 16 days in a juvenile correctional facility for “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security” through her participation in the protests, and another seven months and 16 days for “manufacturing explosives,” along with a one-million-toman fine equivalent to one to two times the value of the explosive materials. For “carrying and distributing explosives,” she was fined four million tomans, plus one million tomans equivalent to one to two times the value of the materials. Time already spent in detention will be credited toward her sentence.

Rabbani was summoned to a police station on January 4, 2026, and required to sign a pledge not to participate in gatherings. Iranian forces arrested her the following day, and she was released after 45 days in detention.