Mohsen Eslamkhah is a 20-year-old Kurdish citizen from Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province. He was 16 years old at the time of his participation in the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests in Bukan in 2022.

Following repeated raids on his family home by security forces seeking to arrest him, he was forced to leave Iran and lived in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq until 2025.

Eslamkhah returned to Iran on 1 August 2025 after making the necessary arrangements, having spent approximately three years in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq due to the pressure and threat of arrest by Iranian security forces.

He was arrested the following day, on 2 August 2025, after presenting himself to the Ministry of Intelligence office in Bukan.

After his arrest, Eslamkhah was transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in Orumiyeh, where he was held for approximately two months. During this period he was subjected to torture aimed at extracting forced confessions regarding alleged involvement in the killing of a Basij member.

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

Eslamkhah’s case, along with those of several other detainees arrested in connection with the Bukan protests – including Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi – was referred to Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz), and separately to the Criminal Court of Miandoab on charges of “premeditated murder”.

On 17 February 2026, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad sentenced Eslamkhah to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh).

Following pressure by security bodies on his family, Eslamkhah presented himself to the Mahabad court on 22 February 2026.

The death sentence was issued despite the fact that Eslamkhah was only 16 years old at the time of the alleged offences. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Islamic Penal Code of Iran, Revolutionary Courts do not have jurisdiction to hear cases involving individuals under the age of 18.

Eslamkhah is currently held in Bukan Prison.

1. Women, Life, Freedom Uprising: Jina Amini (Mahsa Amini), a 21-year-old Kurdish woman from Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, was arrested on a street in Tehran on 13 September 2022 by the morality police because of the way she was dressed. Shortly after her arrest, she was transferred to Kasra Hospital in Tehran with head injuries and symptoms of brain death, and passed away three days later on 16 September 2022. The government’s killing of Jina sparked unprecedented anti-government protests, which began with a large turnout at her funeral at Aichi Cemetery in Saqqez and quickly spread to many cities across Iran. These widespread protests against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which lasted for several months, resulted in at least 527 protesters being killed and thousands injured and arrested. The protests are known for their central slogan of “Women, Life, Freedom” (Kurdish: Jin, Jiyan, Azadi).

2. Article 279 of the Islamic Penal Code: “Moharebeh (enmity against God) is defined as drawing a weapon with the intention of killing, stealing from, or intimidating people in a way that causes insecurity in the environment.” According to Article 282 of the Islamic Penal Code, “if a person commits the crime of moharebeh, they will be sentenced to crucifixion, execution, amputation of the right hand and left foot, or exile, at the discretion of the judge.”