12 January Protesters in Sabzevar Sentenced to Prison and Additional Punishments; 17-Year-Old Among Those Convicted

Breathing in Confinement, Sunday, 6 September 2026: Twelve residents of Sabzevar, including a 17-year-old teenager, who were arrested in connection with the January protests have been sentenced in a joint case by the Sabzevar Revolutionary Court to prison terms, fines and additional punishments. The sentences were subsequently upheld in full by the Razavi Khorasan Province Court of Appeal.

According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, each of the 12 citizens was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. However, taking into account their lack of prior criminal records, one year and six months of each sentence was suspended, leaving each defendant with two years of imprisonment to serve. The combined suspended prison sentences issued against the 12 defendants amount to 18 years.

In addition, the court imposed a fine of 150 million tomans on each defendant, as well as two months of compulsory attendance at Friday prayers and three months of participation in ideological classes supervised by an individual identified as “Malakouti” as additional punishments. The total fines imposed on the 12 defendants amount to 1.8 billion tomans.

Breathing in Confinement has confirmed the identities of 10 of those convicted in the case. They are: Mehdi Nasrabadi, 29; Matin Koushkbaghi, 24; Amir Estiri, 20; Mehdi Ghazi, 19; Amir Erfan Tajabadi, 19; Nazanin-Zahra Mousavi, 17; Reza Khorshid Sokhangouy; Zahra Jafari; Erfan Abed; and Fatemeh Bazghandi. The identities of the other two defendants have not yet been confirmed.

The 12 citizens had previously been arrested by security forces in Sabzevar during the January protests and were subsequently released. According to available information, Amir Erfan Tajabadi, Erfan Abed, Mehdi Nasrabadi and Matin Koushkbaghi were arrested separately on 31 December, while Amir Ostiri, Mehdi Ghazi and Nazanin-Zahra Mousavi were arrested separately on 1 January.

The prison sentences and additional punishments were issued against the detained protesters after they had been released following their initial detention, while judicial proceedings against them remained ongoing.