Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 26 December 2022, during the Women, Life, Freedom anti-government uprising in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province.

He was subjected to severe torture for two days in a security detention centre in the city before being transferred to the Ministry’s detention centre in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province.

While in the detention centre, he was held in solitary confinement and tortured in order to extract forced confessions.

After 170 days, on 10 June 2023, he was transferred to Bukan Prison.

During his detention, he was denied the right to meet with his family or have access to legal representation.

Sheikh-Maroufi was charged with “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz) and his case was sent to Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, for trial.

Additionally, another case has been opened against him in Branch One of the Criminal Court in Bukan, presided over by Judge Gol-Hosseini, although the charges in this case remain unknown.

Sheikh-Maroufi is currently being 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 286 of the Islamic Penal Code: “Anyone who extensively commits crimes against the physical integrity of individuals, crimes against the internal or external security of the country, dissemination of falsehoods, disruption of the country’s economic system, arson and destruction, distributing toxic, microbial, and dangerous substances, or establishing centres of corruption and prostitution or assisting in such activities, in a manner that causes severe disruption to public order, insecurity, or significant damage to the physical integrity of individuals or public and private property, or leads to widespread corruption or prostitution, shall be considered a corrupter on earth.”