Report of Abbas Yavari’s Death Under Torture; Imminent Risk of Execution of Two Prisoners in Shiraz
18-April-2026
Category: Prisoners
16 April 2026
News category: Prisoners
Breathing in Confinement: Abbas Yavari, one of those detained during the January 2026 protests, has died in custody as a result of torture. Additionally, two other prisoners in a joint case have been sentenced to death on charges of killing two Basij members.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, citing reports published on social media, Abbas Yavari, an Arab citizen residing in Shiraz, was arrested in mid-February during the nationwide protests and transferred to Shiraz Central Prison. He was subsequently moved from this prison to another detention facility on 26 March 2026, and on 29 March, his family was informed of his death via a phone call, which was described as “suicide.”
However, published reports indicate that Abbas Yavari had been subjected to severe torture during his detention in order to extract a forced confession regarding the killing of a Basij member during the January protests (in the area of Maali Abad and Molla Sadra streets in Shiraz). Available evidence suggests that he died as a result of these abuses.
The use of torture to obtain forced confessions and deaths in custody are among the issues that have previously been highlighted in numerous reports by human rights organisations concerning conditions in detention centres and prisons in the Islamic Republic.
In another part of the report, it is stated that two prisoners — Manouchehr Vafaei (28) and Benyamin Naqdi (26), a kickboxing champion — have been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges of killing two members of the Salman Basij base in 2024. There are concerns that their executions may be carried out in the coming days.
It has also been reported that the brother of Benyamin Naqdi had previously been executed in 1992 on political charges.