Dehloran: Former Political Prisoner Kianoush Cheraghi Re-Arrested by Security Forces
On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, Kianoush Cheraghi, a Kurdish citizen from Dehloran and former political prisoner associated with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, was re-arrested by security forces without a judicial warrant and transferred to the Intelligence Department’s detention center in Ilam. His arrest comes merely one month after his conditional release from Mahpareh Prison in Ilam, where his prison sentence had been converted to a suspended sentence.
According to a source who spoke with Kurdpa, on the morning of June 24 at 10:00 a.m., security forces entered Mr. Cheraghi’s residence without presenting a warrant, claiming he had failed to respond to a summons—despite no such notice having been received. The agents obtained his signature on a document and departed. One hour later, the security forces returned and informed Mr. Cheraghi that he was required to accompany them for “a few questions.” He was briefly brought back home to collect personal belongings and subsequently transferred to the Intelligence detention center in Ilam. His initial detention order has reportedly been set at 10 days.
On the same day, Akram Sabzi, Mr. Cheraghi’s spouse—previously sentenced to three months in prison for “propaganda against the state,” later commuted to a fine of 8.5 million tomans and a suspended sentence—received an official summons. The notice warned that a repeat offense would result in enforcement of the prior suspended sentence and fine. It further accused her of “insulting state officials in the line of duty” and “assisting a suspect’s escape” during the security raid. She has now been fined an additional 2.5 million tomans, payable within five days.
Kianoush Cheraghi had previously been sentenced in October 2023 to one year in prison for “propaganda against the state,” and in November 2023 to an additional two years for “spreading false information online,” along with a complementary sentence of writing a 200-page report. He was conditionally released in May 2024 following intervention by judicial and security officials.
