On Saturday, April 5, 2026, the Iran Human Rights Center reported that the Iranian judiciary had sentenced two detainees arrested during the January 2026 protests and currently held in Ahvaz Prison.
According to the report, Mansour Keybandarian Sabet and Rahim Pourbedaghi, who were prosecuted in a joint case, had initially been sentenced by a lower court to prison terms, travel bans, and additional punitive measures. However, Branch 18 of the Khuzestan Provincial Court of Appeals upheld a sentence requiring each of them to serve two years in prison.
The two men were reportedly convicted on charges of “disrupting public order” under a provision linked to Article 286 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code.
At the same time, the human rights organization Hiva reported that Iranian authorities have issued, upheld, or formally notified at least 17 death sentences against government opponents in recent weeks.
According to the organization, two individuals named Ashkan Maleki and Mehrdad Mohammadinia were executed before their cases received broader public attention or advocacy efforts on their behalf.
