K.M.M.K:
Following a wave of arrests in conjunction with popular protests, at least 20 Kurdish union activists, teachers, youth and several children and adolescents were detained in various cities in Iran between January 1 and 5, 2026.
According to reports received by the KMMK News Center, most of these people have been transferred to unknown locations and so far no official information is available about their status, whereabouts or charges.
On Monday, January 5, 2026, Ali Hassan Bahamin, a union activist from Farhangian, was detained while speaking at a protest rally in front of the Yasuj Governorate and transferred to the police detention center. The rally was held to demand the release of those detained in recent protests.
Dozens of people were detained in the city of Sonqor, Kermashan Province, during the nationwide protests on January 5. The identities of at least eight of them have been announced, including Kiomars Vaezi (a teacher and former political prisoner), Amir Farhadi, Mehdi Bagheri, Bahar Rafiei, Asal Begvand, Yasin Heshmatian, Alireza Abdi, and Ali Seifuri. Reports indicate that Asal Begvand was injured during the deterioration and his condition and whereabouts are unknown.
Also, in the evening of the same day, Kiomars Vaezi was separately arrested by security forces and transferred to an unknown location. He had previously been detained and imprisoned during the nationwide protests of 2022.
In Ilam Province, on Sunday, January 4, 2016, Ali Darabi (23 years old, from Dareh Shahr) and Amir Hossein Abbasi (23 years old, from Abdanan) were detained, and no information about their fate has been released yet.
Also, Reza Pahlevani from Divandareh and Milad Mardani (21 years old, from Sahneh in Kermashan) were detained on the same day and transferred to an unknown location.
On the morning of Monday, January 5, 2026, Hossein Kaki from Abdanan and Noshad Arabi (48 years old, from Sarabeleh, Ilam) were also detained.
The arrest of children and adolescents is another worrying aspect of this wave of repression. Ramin Eghbali, a 17 years old from Sna (Sanandaj), was detained on January 4 and his condition is unknown.
In Dehloran, Moein Maleki, a 16 years old child, was detained on the morning of January 4 following a raid by government forces on his family home.
Also, Kourosh Khairy, a 13 years old child from Dorud in Lorestan province, was detained on January 1, 2026 and his fate is still unknown.
In other cities, on the evening of Friday, January 2, 2026, Neda Gerami from Yasuj was detained in Haft-Tir Square in this city, and Sina Moradi (23 years old, from the village of Ahmadabad Takab) was also detained in Karaj and transferred to an unknown location.
Human rights organizations have warned of continued arbitrary detentions, disappearances, family incommunicado detention, and child detention; however, officials have so far failed to respond to these cases.
F.R
