According to information received by the Hana Organization for Human Rights, Amirhossein Afra, a young Kurdish man from Ashkhaneh in North Khorasan Province, who was detained during the wave of arrests following the January 2026 protests, has been sentenced by a branch of the Criminal Court to 12 months of discretionary imprisonment, 74 lashes, and a fine of 6,450,000,000 rials (645 million tomans).
According to information received by Hana, the proceedings in this citizen’s case were conducted in absentia, and the court’s verdict was communicated to him orally in late July 2026. Amirhossein Afra has filed an objection and is seeking an appeal of the issued sentence.
According to the information received, the charges attributed to this citizen were “disruption of public order and peace” and “defiance of officers’ orders and confrontation with them.” It should be emphasized, however, that Amirhossein Afra did not participate in the December protests, and his detention occurred as part of the widespread arrests carried out by security forces after the protests had already ended.
The conduct of the trial in absentia, the oral communication of the verdict, and the imposition of penalties including imprisonment, flogging, and a fine, combined with the claim that this citizen was detained despite having had no involvement in the protests, raise serious concerns regarding compliance with the principles of fair trial, the right to an effective defense, and the fundamental guarantees afforded to defendants in judicial proceedings.