Kurdish man Mansour Karbalayi arrested to serve 10-year prison sentence

Hengaw – Thursday, August 27, 2026

Mansour Karbalayi, a 30-year-old Kurdish man from Miandoab who was previously sentenced to 10 years and one day in prison, has been arrested without prior notice to begin serving his sentence.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Karbalayi, the son of Mohammad and a resident of Sarchenar village in Miandoab County, was arrested by Iranian security forces on August 25, 2026, without prior notification. He was taken to court and subsequently transferred to Bukan Central Prison to serve his sentence.

In November 2025, Branch 1 of the Mahabad Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Ahad Siami, sentenced Karbalayi to 10 years and one day in prison on charges of “membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan” and “acting against national security.”

In the same case, Kavis Abdollazadeh Aghdam was sentenced to death in absentia on the charge of “baghi” (armed rebellion), while five other Kurdish men, Yousef Mam Qaderi, Hemin Mam Qaderi, Salar Bayazidi Azar, Hassan Mamil Azar and Salar Seyed Rahimi, were each sentenced to 10 years and one day in prison.

The defendants were arrested by security forces in July 2022 and transferred to an Intelligence Ministry detention facility in Urmia. During interrogation, they were subjected to severe torture aimed at extracting forced confessions and were denied access to a lawyer and family visits.

Karbalayi was later temporarily released on heavy bail pending judicial proceedings.