Iranian woman sentenced to 32 years as arrests continue over 2026 protests

Iranian authorities have issued new prison sentences and carried out arrests in cases linked to the 2026 nationwide protests across the country, according to the foreign-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Maryam Babajani, who was arrested during protests in Izeh, has been sentenced by Branch 1 of the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court to a total of 32 years, six months, and two days in prison, News.Az reports, citing HRANA.

According to HRANA, the court handed her a 20-year sentence on one security-related charge and a further 12 years and six months on another, including charges brought under Iran’s law on intensifying punishments for espionage offences.

A source familiar with the case said Babajani’s lawyer has appealed the ruling. “Following the issuance of the verdict, Ms Babajani’s attorney, Hossein-Ali Hatami, filed an appeal against the ruling,” the source told HRANA.

Babajani was arrested in late January 2026 in connection with the protests in Izeh and was later released on bail set at 10 billion tomans.

In a separate case, attorney Mehran Ansari, a member of the Fars Province Bar Association, has been sentenced by the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz to one year in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime,” HRANA reported.

Ansari was arrested by security forces in Shiraz during the 2026 protests and later released on bail set at 2 billion tomans. His cousin, Mehdi Ansari, also a lawyer and member of the same bar association, was previously sentenced by the same court to five years in prison and a two-year travel ban.

In another case, Amirhossein Bagheri Alavijeh, a master’s student at Arak University, was arrested by security forces on 1 June 2026 and taken to an undisclosed location.

According to HRANA, plainclothes agents raided his home in Alavijeh, Isfahan Province, and detained him using force, also confiscating electronic devices belonging to him and his family.

A source close to the family said Bagheri suffers from underlying medical conditions and requires regular medication, warning that lack of access to treatment has raised concerns about his health in detention.

His whereabouts and the reasons for his arrest remain unknown. He had previously received a one-year suspended sentence from the Revolutionary Court of Najafabad and was required to report monthly to the sentence enforcement branch. He was also briefly detained in April 2025 before being released on bail.

News.Az