At least 89 people arrested across Iran in September 2025 by security forces
Hengaw – Saturday, October 4, 2025
At least 89 people were arrested by security forces across Iran in September 2025, according to data collected by the Statistics and Documentation Center of Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. The figure represents a 7% decrease compared to the same month in 2024, when 96 arrests were recorded.
During the month, six women activists, 11 children, 43 Kurds, and 10 Baloch were among those arrested or abducted. The highest number of arrests was recorded in Kurdistan Province (Sanandaj/Sine), with 23 cases.
Arrests by province
The highest number of arrests were recorded in Kurdistan Province (Sanandaj/Sine) with 23 cases, followed by West Azerbaijan (Urmia) and Isfahan, each with 20 cases.
Kurdistan Province (Sanandaj/Sine): 23 cases (including 22 Kurds and 1 German national)
West Azerbaijan Province: 20 cases (all Kurds)
Isfahan Province: 20 cases (including 19 Persians and 1 Kurd)
Sistan and Baluchestan Province: 8 cases
Gilan Province: 4 cases
Fars Province: 3 cases (including 1 Baloch, 1 Persian, and 1 person whose ethnic identity has not been verified by Hengaw)
Lorestan, Mazandaran, Tehran, and Khorasan Razavi Provinces: 2 cases each
Khuzestan Province: 2 cases (both Lors)
Qom Province: 1 case
Arrests by ethnic and national identity
Hengaw’s data shows that at least 43 Kurds were arrested by security forces in September 2025, accounting for 48.5% of all arrests nationwide. In addition, 10 Baloch (11%) were detained.
Kurds: 43
Baloch: 10
Lors: 5
Gilaks: 5
Persians: 23
German national: 1
Ethnic identity not verified by Hengaw: 2
Arrests of religious and faith minorities
Arrests of religious and faith minority members continued in September 2025. At least one Baha’i activist, one Sunni activist, and two Shi’a clerics were arrested.
Baha’i activist:
1. Shahram Kashaninejad from Nowshahr
Sunni activist:
1. Habibollah Arbabezahi from Zabol
Shi’a clerics:
1. Mohammad Taghi Akbarnejad from Qom
2. Shahabeddin Haeri from Shiraz
At least 11 children under 18 arrested
According to Hengaw’s documentation, at least 11 children under the age of 18 were arrested by security forces in September 2025, making up 12% of all arrests recorded that month.
At least nine of the detained children were Kurds, while two were Lor and Baloch. Their names are as follows:
1. Parsa Ghasemi, 17, from Behbahan
2. Awraz Zamani, 17, from Kamyaran
3. Behrouz Rashidi, 17, from Kamyaran
4. Kawan Sabouri, 17, from Kamyaran
5. Payam Hosseini, 17, from Kamyaran
6. Soran Mozaffari, 17, from Kamyaran
7. Ehsan Sabouri, 17, from Kamyaran
8. Abdollah Azizi, 17, from Qasr-e Qand
9. Diyar Gorgol, 16, from Oshnavieh
10. Alan Tabnak, 16, from Oshnavieh
11. Zaniar Shadikhah, 17, from Oshnavieh
Arrests of women activists
At least six women activists were arrested in September 2025, representing 7% of all arrests recorded that month.
At least three of those arrested were Gilak women and two were Kurdish women. Their identities are as follows:
Rasht: 1. Shadi Falahati 2. Tahereh Pouresmaeili 3. Masoumeh Pourshahrani
Sanandaj/Sine: 4. Nahiyeh Rahimi 5. Derakhshan Rahimi
Shiraz: 6. Maryam Delbari
Arrests of teachers and students
In September 2025, at least 18 teachers were arrested during a gathering, along with one university student.
Detained teachers:
Abdollah Rezaei, Mohammad Habibi, Aram Mohammadi, Hamid Rahmati, Manouchehr Aghabeigi, Rasoul Bodaqi, Mohammad Sedighipour, Khanaziz Esmaeili, Ali Safari, Dariush Sadeghi, Mohammad Hossein Mosadeghian, Esmaeil Farhangmanesh, Shokrollah Ahmadi, Iraj Rahnema, Mohammadreza Amanifar, Faramarz Khodashenas, Masoud Farhikhteh, and Ali Fallah — all arrested in Rey.
Detained student:
1. Emad Daroftadeh from Piranshahr
Arrests of journalists and media workers
No arrests of journalists or media professionals were recorded in September 2025.
Arrests of writers and artists
In September 2025, at least one writer, Shahabeddin Haeri, a religious scholar from Shiraz, was arrested to serve a prison sentence and transferred to Adelabad Prison in that city.
The identities of all 89 people have been verified and documented by the Statistics and Documentation Center of Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. Use of this data is permitted with proper citation. These statistics include only cases where Hengaw has confirmed the full identities of those detained.
