According to information received by HANA Human Rights Organization, four Kurmanj Kurdish citizens from Bojnurd and Ashkhaneh, arrested during the January 2026 protests, have been sentenced by Bojnurd’s revolutionary and criminal courts to a combined 9 years and 9 months in ta’zir imprisonment, flogging, and a fine of 50 million tomans. One of them, Yasin Sarfaraz, a 17-year-old boxer and member of Iran’s national boxing team, is a child.
Mehdi Rostami, 25, from Ashkhaneh, was sentenced in late July 2026 by Branch Two of the Bojnurd Revolutionary Court to two years in ta’zir imprisonment on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the state.” His case proceeded without access to a lawyer, and according to a source close to HANA, judicial officials stripped him of his right to appeal while warning him that his sentence would be increased if he tried to challenge the ruling. He has also been ordered to report to prison in late August to begin serving his sentence. Rostami was arrested in late January 2026, when security forces raided his home without presenting a judicial warrant.
Seyed Alireza Seyedi, 26, also from Ashkhaneh, was sentenced by Branch One of the Bojnurd Revolutionary Court to three years in ta’zir imprisonment on a charge of “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against internal and external security.” His hearing was held on July 13, 2026. He was also sentenced to flogging, according to available information, though the number of lashes and the specific charge tied to that part of the ruling have not yet been disclosed.
Amirmehdi Naeemifar, an 18-year-old athlete from Bojnurd, was sentenced on June 22, 2026, by Branch Four of the Bojnurd Criminal Court, without legal representation, to one year and six months in ta’zir imprisonment and a fine of 50 million tomans, on charges of “disrupting public order and security” and “defying officers’ orders.” He had been arrested on January 8, 2026, without a judicial warrant, and was released on bail after three weeks in detention.
Yasin Sarfaraz, the 17-year-old boxer from Bojnurd and member of Iran’s national boxing team, was sentenced in a single session, without access to a lawyer of his choosing, by Branch Four of the North Khorasan Provincial Criminal Court, to three years and three months in prison on a charge of “assembly and collusion against national security.” The verdict was communicated to him about five days ago.
These four cases were handled without effective access to legal counsel, with the right to appeal denied outright and, in at least one instance, threats to increase the sentence for attempting to challenge it, a clear violation of fair trial principles. Sentencing Yasin Sarfaraz to prison at just 17 years old deepens concerns over the erosion of the special protections children are entitled to in judicial proceedings. Responsibility for respecting defendants’ rights, guaranteeing their right to a defense, and preventing inhumane punishments like flogging rests squarely with the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic.