Vakilabad Prison of Mashhad; 8 Years in Prison, 80 Lashes, and a 2-Year Exile for Seyed Khalil Rasouli 5 Months of Detention with a Bullet-Wounded Leg and Without Treatment

June 17, 2026; following five months since the arbitrary detention of "Seyed Khalil Rasouli," a Kurdish citizen from the city of Bojnourd and one of the detainees of the December 2025/January 2026 protests, he has been sentenced to 8 years of discretionary imprisonment, 80 lashes, and a 2-year exile to the city of "Khash" without enjoying the right to temporary release and access to a lawyer. Following the notification of the verdict, he was transferred from the prison of Bojnourd to Vakilabad Prison of Mashhad to serve his sentence.

An informed source, while confirming this news to Kurdpa, stated: Following his arrest, "Seyed Khalil Rasouli" was held for nearly two months in an undisclosed location in absolute isolation, and after being transferred to the prison of Bojnourd, he remained deprived of the right to temporary release due to an inability to provide bail. Throughout his entire detention, he was deprived of access to a lawyer, and ultimately, his sentence of 8 years of discretionary imprisonment, 80 lashes, and a 2-year exile was verbally notified to him in prison during the past weeks. Furthermore, having been wounded by a bullet shot to his leg during his arrest, he remains in prison after more than five months without proper medical attention, and the bullets are still lodged in his leg.

This source states that this verdict for Seyed Khalil Rasouli was definitively issued on May 2, 2026, by the 4th Interrogation Branch of the Criminal Court of North Khorasan Province, and a few days after the verbal notification of the verdict, he was transferred from the prison of Bojnourd to Vakilabad Prison of Mashhad to serve his imprisonment. Given the lack of access to the text of the court judgment and the verbal notification of the sentence duration to this political prisoner, it is presumed that he was sentenced in connection with charges within the spectrum of "acting against national security" with the implementation of exile as a supplementary punishment.

According to information obtained by Kurdpa, this Kurdish citizen was subjected to interrogation and torture in an undisclosed location in absolute isolation for nearly two months following his arrest on January 8, 2026. After the conclusion of the interrogations, he was transferred to the prison of Bojnourd, but due to an inability to provide a 6-billion-Toman bail, he was deprived of the right to temporary release. During his detention at the detention center, he was also deprived of the right to any contact and meet with his family, as well as access to a lawyer.

Kurdpa's informed source says that even after being transferred to the prison of Bojnourd and the referral of the case to the court, Mr. Rasouli could not appoint a chosen lawyer due to his poor financial situation, and the government did not assign any public defender to him either. Consequently, without having any lawyer, he was ultimately sentenced in May 2026 to 8 years of discretionary imprisonment and a 2-year exile to the city of "Khash," and this verdict was verbally notified to him in prison.

Seyed Khalil Rasouli was arrested on the evening of January 8, 2026, during a armed raid by security forces on his home without the presentation of a judicial warrant. During the arrest, although he offered no resistance against the security forces, he was wounded by the deliberate firing of two handgun bullets into his leg and was transferred to an unknown location in that condition. He was under interrogation and torture in an undisclosed location for nearly two months, and throughout this entire period, he remained deprived of the right to any contact and meet with his family, as well as access to a lawyer. Furthermore, no medical attention was provided for his wounded leg, and two bullets remain lodged in his leg.

Regarding his condition, this source states: "Even after the end of the interrogations and his transfer to the prison, the family was unaware of his whereabouts until they found out through other prisoners that he was in prison. Additionally, he is currently deprived of visitation rights and is in a very poor physical condition. Due to the two bullets remaining in his leg, he faces severe pain, widespread swelling, and limps while walking."

According to this source, in the initial months, his leg had developed a severe infection, and the prison clinic only provided him with painkillers and medication to control the bleeding and infection. Although the severe infection has decreased, the swelling of the leg, pain, and his mobility issues still persist.

This informed source also states: "We have heard from prisoners and sources inside the prison that an order has been issued regarding those wounded during security arrests to perform only superficial and outpatient treatments, and prison clinics are not allowed to provide specialized care or transfer these prisoners to medical centers."

According to him, the family of Seyed Khalil Rasouli has visited various institutions over the past 5 months and pursued medical care for his condition, but no official has been accountable, and in some cases, they were even expelled from judicial offices with threatening behavior.

This source adds: "The family also visited to pursue his treatment after his transfer to Vakilabad Prison of Mashhad, but prison officials replied: 'He will get well, a few months have passed, he will get used to it.' These sentences were spoken to the family with a humiliating and mocking tone."

Also, according to the family, the Prosecutor of North Khorasan responded to their follow-ups by saying: "Thank God, do not look for marginal issues. Let him serve his imprisonment and learn his lesson, then he can come out and live his life. He is fine now, what are you looking for?"

Seyed Khalil Rasouli has also sent a letter from inside Vakilabad Prison of Mashhad to the Supreme Court regarding his case and physical condition, but has received no response so far.

Seyed Khalil Rasouli is single, and following the death of his father, he was the caregiver for his elderly mother. Since his arrest, his mother has also fallen ill. His family is in a very difficult economic situation; they are tenants, and his elderly and ailing mother has been left alone at home without a caregiver.