A Teenage Athlete and Two University Researchers in Judicial Limbo
Amid ongoing security operations in Iran, a 17-year-old athlete from Bojnord has been denied contact with his family following arrest, while two researchers from Urmia University of Medical Sciences remain in prison for over a month without access to legal counsel or judicial determination of their status.
Published reports indicate that arrests of citizens in various parts of Iran continue, along with concerns about their conditions, access to lawyers, and legal proceedings.
According to these reports, “Benjamin Vahidi,” a 17-year-old athlete specializing in boxing and mixed martial arts from Bojnord, was arrested following a security force raid on his family home, with the arrest accompanied by violence and beatings.
According to the released information, after the arrest, security authorities informed the teenager’s family that he would be denied the right to telephone contact and visits with his family until the full payment of the monetary fine determined in his case. Additionally, until the publication of this report, no clear information about his place of detention had been released.
Benjamin Vahidi was previously sentenced by the Bojnord Revolutionary Court in connection with December 2024 protests to two years imprisonment and a fine of 100 million tomans on charges of “disrupting public order and peace,” “destruction of public property,” and “clashes with officials.” This verdict was issued in the absence of the defendant and without the presence of a defense counsel.
In another case, “Kezhale Mobaraki,” 40, from Dehgolan and a researcher at Urmia University of Medical Sciences, along with her husband “Jamal Ahmadzadeh,” also a researcher at the same university, remain detained in Urmia Central Prison in judicial limbo after more than a month since their arrest.
This couple of researchers has been denied access to legal counsel and information about the legal status of their case. No details about the detaining authority, reasons for arrest, or any alleged charges against them have been officially released.
Kezhale Mobaraki and Jamal Ahmadzadeh, both residents of Urmia, have been active in medical research in recent years and have published numerous scientific articles.
Meanwhile, the human rights organization Hengaw has also referenced Kezhale Mobaraki’s family background, noting that her brother “Ayyoub Mobaraki” died in 2024 in the ranks of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). To date, no official body has announced any connection between this matter and the arrest of this couple of researchers.
The arrest of these individuals occurs as human rights bodies have repeatedly expressed concern about arbitrary arrests, denial of access to legal counsel for detainees, prolonged detention in judicial limbo, and lack of transparency in the proceedings of security-related cases in Iran.
