IRAN - Death sentence of Arman Marefati upheld by Supreme Court

November 12, 2026 - IRAN. Death sentence of Arman Marefati upheld by Supreme Court

A Kurdish political prisoner

Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Arman Marefati, a 38-year-old Kurdish political prisoner from Saqqez who was arrested during the January 2026 protests.

According to information received by Hengaw, the Supreme Court recently upheld the death sentence, making the ruling final. Marefati, who lived in Tehran before his arrest, is currently held in Unit 3, Hall 37 of Ghezel-Hesar Prison. Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, had previously sentenced him to death.

During his trial in March 2026, the prosecutor’s representative initially charged Marefati with “gathering and collusion to commit crimes against national security through participation in protests.” However, Judge Salavati invoked Article 280 of Iran’s Code of Criminal Procedure to amend and escalate the charges to “participation in operational acts against national security, entering religious premises with intent to destroy property, and involvement in setting fire to a mosque and a religious seminary.” The court sentenced him to death on the revised charges.

Marefati was tried in a joint case alongside two other Kurdish protesters from Qorveh, Mehrdad Mohammadiniya and Ashkan Maleki. Both were executed in June 2026, the same month Marefati was transferred from Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary (Fashafouyeh Prison) to Ghezel-Hesar Prison.

A father of two young children, Marefati worked as a laborer at Tehran’s fruit and vegetable market to support his family. Several years ago, he lost his parents and sister to carbon monoxide poisoning in Saqqez. He has no surviving immediate family members.