Towhid Darvish (Loghman Darvish) is a father of two and comes from the village of Garnavik in Khoy, West Azerbaijan province. Following an earthquake in March 2020, his family settled in the city of Khoy after their village home was destroyed in the quake.

Darvish was arrested by security forces in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, during the anti-government uprising of Women, Life, Freedom on 29 September 2022.

After his arrest, the security forces transferred him to a security detention centre in this city, where he was subjected to physical and psychological torture in order to make forced confessions regarding his alleged “participation in setting fire to the bank of Sepah”.

In early January 2023, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tabriz sentenced Darvish to 10 years in exile in Ahvaz prison on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) through destruction of public property. He was also ordered to pay 50 billion Iranian rials – nearly 120,000 USD – in damages to the bank.

In mid-March of the same year, the Branch Nine of the Supreme Court, upon reviewing the appeal by his lawyers, overturned the sentence and referred the case to an equivalent branch for retrial.

His court session was held again on 14 June 2023 in the second branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tabriz.

Darvish is being held in Tabriz Central Prison.

– In June 2023, he attempted suicide to protest his prolonged state of uncertainty. His neck was partially cut with a sharp object and after receiving treatment at the prison infirmary, he was returned to the ward.

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.”