Iran court sentences young Kurdish protester to death

Mohsen Eslamkhah, a 20-year-old Kurdish citizen who was arrested in connection with the “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising in Bukan, has been sentenced to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad.

Eslamkhah is currently held in Bukan Prison alongside two other political prisoners facing execution: Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi and Mohammad Faraji.

An informed source who spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) said: “Mohsen Eslamkhah was identified by security forces in 2022 due to his participation in the Women, Life, Freedom protests in Bukan. His family home was raided several times by these forces in an attempt to arrest him. He was 16 years old at the time and, due to pressure from security bodies and fear of arrest, he was forced to leave Iran and lived in the Kurdistan Region [of Iraq] until 2025.”

The source said that, due to the harsh living conditions in the Kurdistan Region, Eslamkhah returned to Iran on 1 August 2025 after making the necessary arrangements, but was arrested the following day after presenting himself to the Ministry of Intelligence office in Bukan.

He was then transferred to the Ministry’s detention facility in Orumiyeh, where he was held for approximately two months and subjected to torture aimed at extracting forced confessions regarding alleged involvement in the killing of a Basij member.

The young man was subsequently transferred to Bukan Prison, and was temporarily released on bail of 50 billion rials (approximately 31,000 USD) after 11 days.

The source added: “His case, along with those of several other detainees from the Bukan protests, including Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi, was referred to Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Mahabad on charges of enmity against God and spreading corruption on earth, and separately to the Criminal Court of Miandoab on charges of premeditated murder. The death sentence was issued by Branch One of the [Islamic] Revolutionary Court in Mahabad on 17 February 2026. Following pressure by security bodies on his family, Eslamkhah presented himself to the Mahabad court on 22 February 2026.”

The death sentence has been issued against despite the fact that he was only 16 years old at the time of the protests, and that under the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Islamic Penal Code, Revolutionary Courts do not have jurisdiction to hear cases involving individuals under the age of 18.

Source: kurdistanhumanrights.org, Staff, April 7, 2026

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