Amir-Hossein Afra, a young resident of Ashkhaneh in North Khorasan Province who was arrested in the wake of the January protests, has been sentenced to 12 months of discretionary imprisonment, 74 lashes, and a fine of 645 million tomans on charges of “disrupting public order and tranquility” and “refusing to comply with police orders.”
The Kurdistan News Agency, Kurdpa, reported on Wednesday, August 5, that Afra was sentenced by a branch of the Ashkhaneh Criminal Court on charges of “disrupting public order and tranquility” and “refusing to obey officers and engaging in an altercation with them.” The ruling was issued despite reports that he did not participate in the demonstrations and was rounded up during the wave of mass arrests that followed the January protests.
According to an informed source, the trial was held in absentia, and the sentence was communicated to him verbally in early August 2026. Afra has filed an appeal against the decision.
Afra was arrested by security forces in March 2026 without a judicial warrant as part of the mass arrests that followed the January protests and was taken to an undisclosed location. He was temporarily released on bail after one week in custody.
