Violent Arrest of Kurdish Physician in Urmia; “Bayan Salehian” Detained by Security Forces Again

Bayan Salehian, a 43-year-old internal medicine specialist and resident of Saghez, was arrested on Sunday, September 26, 2026, during a security forces raid on his home in Urmia and transferred to an unknown location. Reports of severe beatings during his arrest and the confiscation of his personal belongings have intensified concerns about the condition of this physician and social activist.

According to the human rights organization Hengaw, security forces entered Salehian’s home, searched the house, and confiscated his mobile phone and laptop. According to informed sources, Salehian was subjected to violence and beatings during his arrest. After several days, no accurate information has been released regarding the reason for his arrest, possible charges, or his place of detention.

This is not the first time this physician has faced security and judicial action. Salehian was previously arrested during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in 2022 alongside two other physicians from Saghez. Subsequently, multiple legal cases were filed against him.

In one of these cases, the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court in 2023 convicted him of “propagandistic activity against the system through posting content on cyberspace” to eight months of imprisonment, a sentence later converted to a fine of 20 million tomans. This conviction has been documented in Hengaw reports and other human rights organizations’ records.

However, Salehian’s judicial history did not end with this case. In another case in Urmia, he was convicted of “spreading false information with the intent to disturb public opinion on cyberspace” to five months imprisonment and a monetary fine, and the Ninth Branch of the West Azerbaijan Appeals Court confirmed this ruling in 2025. In another section of the case, the Urmia Revolutionary Court convicted him of paying a fine of 40 million tomans for the charge of “propaganda against the system.”

Human rights reports also state that Salehian was arrested in October 2024 by the information protection forces of the Urmia police and was released after several hours of interrogation; his mobile phone was also confiscated at that time. Therefore, this recent arrest (if confirmed) would be the fourth reported security or judicial action against this physician within a span of several years.

The repetition of arrest and prosecution of a physician for activities attributed to him in cyberspace and political activities occurs at a time when even basic initial information such as the charge against him and his place of detention is not available regarding his recent arrest. This information gap has intensified concerns about Salehian’s legal and physical condition, particularly given the violence against him during his arrest.

At present, what can be said with certainty about Salehian’s recent arrest is limited to reports from human rights organizations, and officials of the Islamic Republic have not yet provided public and independent clarification regarding the reason for the arrest, possible charges, or his condition. Therefore, claims of beatings are currently based on human rights sources’ reports, and independent verification of them is not possible.

Nevertheless, the history of Salehian’s previous cases demonstrates that judicial action against him is not new. A physician who previously faced charges of “propaganda against the system” and “spreading false information” due to posting content on cyberspace and received imprisonment and fine sentences, has now once again been removed from family contact and public access without an official announcement of charges or detention location.

Bayan Salehian’s recent arrest raises once more the question of why in security cases, even regarding citizens with a history of judicial conviction, transparent and immediate information about the charge, place of detention, and access to a lawyer is not released. Under such circumstances, the silence of official institutions only adds to concerns about the fate of this physician and makes it increasingly necessary to clarify his condition.