Mehdi Roshani

Mehdi (Sikan) Roshani, a 25-year-old Kurdish man from Malekshahi, Ilam Province, was among those arrested during the December 2025–January 2026 protests.

Security forces arrested him during protests in Malekshahi on 16 January 2026. After approximately three months in detention, he was temporarily released on bail.

The Islamic Revolutionary Court in Ilam subsequently sentenced him to three years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to nine months.

Arrest

Security forces arrested Roshani for a second time in Malekshahi on 18 July 2026 and transferred him to Ilam Central Prison.

Current Status

Following his transfer to prison, a new case was opened against Roshani at Branch Six of the Investigation Office of the Ilam Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office. He was formally notified of charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz).

Roshani remains in Ilam Central Prison under a temporary detention order.

Notes

1. The January 2026 protests began in Tehran’s market on 1 January in response to the severe economic crisis and an unprecedented surge in currency exchange rates. From the first day, the demonstrations rapidly spread across Iran, with protesters chanting anti-government slogans. The protests peaked on 8 and 9 January and were met with widespread and unprecedented repression by the Islamic Republic’s military and security forces.

Thousands of people were killed or injured in different cities during the violent crackdown. Given the large number of people killed and arrested, the events have been described as nearly unprecedented in the history of the Islamic Republic. Although the authorities announced an official death toll of 3,117, human rights organisations and independent sources have said that the true number was considerably higher due to the nationwide internet shutdown and security pressure on the families of those killed.