Ilam Detention Center: Political Prisoner Kianoush Cheraghi on Dry Hunger Strike in Protest Against Arbitrary One-Month Detention Order

23:04 – June 26, 2025

Kianoush Cheraghi, a Kurdish political prisoner from Dehloran, began a dry hunger strike on June 24, 2025, the day of his arbitrary re-arrest and transfer to Ilam Detention Center, in protest against a one-month detention order and fabricated charges.

According to a reliable source who spoke to Kurdpa, Mr. Cheraghi, a former detainee of the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising, launched his hunger strike on the day of his arrest, citing indefinite pre-trial detention and baseless accusations. As of Friday, June 27, he has reportedly been denied basic conditions for humane treatment.

Mr. Cheraghi is currently held in a quarantine cell with 15 individuals accused of murder and is being denied access to legal counsel.

On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, he was arrested by security forces without a judicial warrant, one month after being released on suspended sentences from Mahpareh Prison in Ilam. According to the source, at 10 a.m., security agents entered his home and accused him of failing to respond to a summons—which he had never received. They took his signature and left, only to return an hour later, claiming they needed him to “answer a few questions.” They then allowed him to collect personal items before transferring him to the Ilam Intelligence Detention Center. An initial 10-day detention order was issued, later extended to a one-month period.

On the same day, his wife Akram Sabzi, previously sentenced to three months in prison for “propaganda against the state” (later commuted to an 8.5 million toman fine and a suspended sentence), received a new formal summons. This document warned that the prior suspension and fine would be enforced if she repeated the offense, and it included additional charges such as “insulting public officials while on duty” and “aiding a suspect’s evasion.” She was also sentenced to pay an additional 2.5 million toman fine, payable within five days.

Kianoush Cheraghi has a history of multiple convictions:

In October 2023, sentenced to one year for “propaganda against the state.”

In November 2023, sentenced to two additional years for “spreading false information online” and ordered to write a 200-page research paper as supplementary punishment.
He was conditionally released in April 2024 by judicial and security authorities following advocacy efforts.

Kurdpa has previously reported on:
 

Kianoush Cheraghi Freed After Sentence Suspension Over Mahpareh Prison Protest