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IRAN - IHR Report on arrests of activists during the war
March 10, 2026: March 10, 2026 - IRAN. IHR Report on arrests of activists during the war
Ongoing Arrests of Civil Society Activists; Growing Concerns for Prisoners’ Safety Amid Wartime Conditions
Islamic Republic’s security forces have continued to arrest civil society activists in the western regions of Iran despite the ongoing wartime conditions. At the same time, continuing US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran have struck locations near several prisons, raising concerns about the safety of prisoners.
According to information obtained by IHR, civil society activists continue to face repressive measures despite the ongoing war.
A source told IHR that Dr Ghorban Abbasi, a sociologist and civil rights activist, was arrested with his son, Alshan Abbasi, by the Islamic Republic’s security forces in Naqadeh at 14:30 on 3 March 2026 and transferred to an undisclosed location.
According to the source, Ghorban Abbasi had been summoned by security forces under the pretext of addressing a traffic-related matter concerning his vehicle. When he appeared, agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Naqadeh arrested him.
Ghorban Abbasi, a civil activist from Naqadeh and an ethnic Azerbaijani Turk from Iran’s Azerbaijan region, has authored and translated dozens of books in various academic fields over the course of his scholarly career. His 19-year-old son, Alshan Abbasi, was released on 6 March 2026, but Ghorban Abbasi remains in detention and no information is available about his whereabouts or condition.
In a separate case, on 6 March 2026, at around 03:00, security forces raided the home of Osman Bayezidi, a resident of the Bandareh village in Piranshahr County in West Azerbaijan province, and arrested him without presenting a judicial warrant. No information is available regarding his place of detention or the reasons for his arrest and possible charges.
Zeinab Azizi and her husband, Sirvan Amini, residents of Sanandaj, were also arrested on 7 March 2026. No information is available regarding the charges against them or their place of detention.
In addition, the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations announced in a statement that Kiumars Vaezi, a retired teacher and teachers’ union activist, and Mehdi Bagheri, two political prisoners from Songhor detained in Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, have been on hunger strike since 8 March 2026 in protest against the intervention of security forces in the judicial proceedings of their cases.
The Council expressed concern about the condition of the prisoners, emphasising the need to uphold fair trial procedures, end security interference in judicial affairs and ensure the health and rights of prisoners.
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, more than 120 prisoners from Mahabad Prison in West Azerbaijan province have been transferred to Miandoab Prison and are currently in an unclear situation. On March 3, 2026, a military facility near Mahabad Prison was targeted in an attack.
During the US and Israeli airstrikes, locations near several prisons — including Evin Prison, the Greater Tehran Penitentiary (Fashafuyeh), Mahabad Prison, Marivan Prison and the IRGC Intelligence detention centre in Sanandaj — have been struck. Families of prisoners in Iran have called for the release of detainees on furlough or transferring them to safer locations in accordance with international law and existing domestic regulations. IHR had previously warned about the concerning situation of prisoners under wartime conditions.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/8652/ (Source: IHR)
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