Protest detainees in Iran face severe charges and fines

Nine citizens from Esfarayen remain in legal limbo following their arrests related to the nationwide protests of January 2026. Seven of the individuals have been transferred to Bojnord Prison, while two minors, Amirhossein Sarban and Sajjad Shamsaei, are being held in a juvenile rehabilitation center.

The detainees face severe charges, including ‘moharebeh’ (enmity against God), ‘ifsad fel-arz’ (corruption on earth), premeditated murder, arson, and disrupting public order. These legal actions stem from an incident on January 7, 2026, involving the burning of a police kiosk in Esfarayen, which resulted in the deaths of the Esfarayen prosecutor, Ali Akbar Hosseinzadeh, and four others.

In a separate case related to the same protest period, Meysam Sadkhari (also known as Ghasemi) has been summoned to the Davarzan court to pay significant fines. He was sentenced to pay 120 million tomans for allegedly ‘seducing or inciting people to war and slaughter to disrupt national security,’ 80 million tomans for insulting the Supreme Leader, and 70 million tomans for propaganda against the regime.