September 23, 2026 — Kianoush Cheraghi, a Kurdish political prisoner from Dehloran with a history of multiple arrests and convictions, was exiled to Kerman Prison in recent months to serve a 13-month and 16-day prison sentence. Now, as his sentence has concluded and he was due for release, prison authorities notified him that he has been handed an additional 5-year prison sentence. In protest against this new ruling, months of continuous detention without furlough, and inhumane prison conditions, Cheraghi entered the fourth day of a dry hunger strike.

An informed source confirmed the news to Kurdpa, stating: "Kianoush Cheraghi, who was exiled to Kerman Prison on January 31, 2026, to serve his sentence, was informed upon completing his 13-month and 16-day term that he has been sentenced to an additional 5 years in prison. In protest against these rulings, the denial of a single day of furlough over the past 13 months, and his detention under harsh and inhumane conditions, he launched a dry hunger strike on September 20, 2026."

The source added that while Cheraghi originally retained private legal counsel, his legal representation was forcibly changed in recent months to a court-appointed public defender. As a result, the precise legal grounds for the new 5-year sentence remain unclear. However, authorities verbally informed him that his previous file remained open, additional charges were attached, and an enforceable 5-year prison term was issued.

Kurdpa will publish further details regarding this new sentence as they become available.

These judicial pressures and sentences persist despite Cheraghi being the primary provider for a disabled child and a family left without financial support.

Prior Arrests, Sentences, and Judicial Harassment

  • June 24, 2025: Cheraghi, a former political prisoner from the "Woman, Life, Freedom" (Jin, Jiyan, Azadî) uprising, was re-arrested by security forces without a judicial warrant just one month after his conditional release from Mahpareh Prison in Ilam. He was transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Ilam. Upon his arbitrary arrest and facing a one-month temporary detention order on fabricated charges, Cheraghi initiated a dry hunger strike. On June 27, 2025, reports emerged that he was denied basic humane facilities and placed in a quarantine cell alongside 15 individuals accused of murder, while being deprived of access to a lawyer.
  • August 20, 2025: On August 17, 2025, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office of Dehloran issued an indictment sentencing Cheraghi to 13 months and 16 days of discretionary imprisonment for "publishing false information against official authorities via social media" (on his Instagram page) and 40 lashes for "insulting law enforcement officers on duty." The flogging sentence was ordered to be executed at the Criminal Executions Department of Dehloran.
  • October & November 2023: Cheraghi was previously sentenced in October 2023 to one year in prison for "propaganda against the state," and in November 2023 to two years in prison for "publishing false information online," alongside a supplementary penalty requiring him to write a 200-page research paper. He was conditionally released in May 2024.

Judicial Pressure on Spouse Akram Sabzi

On June 24, 2025, Akram Sabzi, Cheraghi's wife—who had previously been sentenced to 3 months in prison for "propaganda against the state" (a sentence later converted to an 8.5-million-Toman fine and a suspended prison term)—received a formal judicial summons. The notice warned that if she repeated the charge of propaganda against the state, her suspended sentence and fine would be executed.

Additionally, new charges were brought against her, including "insulting government officials on duty" and "aiding in the escape of an accused person" during a prior security raid on their home. She was subsequently ordered to pay a fine of 2.5 million Tomans within five days.