Manouchehr Bakhtiari, father of slain protester Pouya Bakhtiari, sentenced to 10 years in prison in new case
Hengaw – Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Manouchehr Bakhtiari, a Lor man and the father of Pouya Bakhtiari, who was killed during Iran’s November 2019 protests, has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison in a new case by Branch 1 of the Bandar Abbas Revolutionary Court. Bakhtiari is currently imprisoned at Bandar Abbas Central Prison.
According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the sentence was issued following a complaint filed by the Bandar Abbas prosecutor. Bakhtiari was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “sending videos to foreign social media networks in a manner contrary to national security,” four years for “inciting people to war and killing one another with the intent of disrupting national security and creating social unrest,” and one year for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran through media alignment with opponents.”
The verdict was communicated to Bakhtiari verbally at Bandar Abbas Central Prison on September 1, 2026. Under Iran’s sentencing rules for multiple convictions, the most severe sentence of five years is enforceable.
Hearings in the new case were held before Branch 1 of the Bandar Abbas Revolutionary Court on June 3 and June 15, 2026. The case was initiated following a complaint by the Bandar Abbas prosecutor.
Bakhtiari was arrested again by Iranian security forces on January 19, 2026, while serving a two-and-a-half-year internal exile sentence in Bandar Abbas, and was subsequently transferred to Bandar Abbas Central Prison.
He had previously been arrested by security forces at his home in Tehran on April 29, 2021, and was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, two years and six months of internal exile, and a two-year travel ban. After serving more than four years at Choubindar Prison in Qazvin, he was released in October 2025 and immediately transferred to Bandar Abbas to begin serving his exile sentence.
During his previous imprisonment, additional cases were brought against Bakhtiari. In one case, he received a six-month prison sentence, while in another he was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 74 lashes. The 18-year prison sentence was later overturned on appeal.
Bakhtiari’s son, Pouya Bakhtiari, was 27 when he was killed on November 16, 2019, during protests over an increase in fuel prices in Phase 4 of Mehrshahr, Karaj. He died after being shot in the head by Iranian security forces.
