Mohammad Faraji and Raouf Sheikh-Ma’roufi, two Kurdish political prisoners held in Bukan Central Prison and among those arrested during the Jin revolutionary movement, have been sentenced to death by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran after three years of imprisonment and uncertainty.
According to Kolbarnews, Mohammad Faraji, 23 years old, and Raouf Sheikh-Ma’roufi, 24 years old, both from Bukan, were sentenced to death by Branch One of the Mahabad Revolutionary Court on charges including “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth.”
The court sessions addressing the charges against these two citizens were held separately in the fall of this year, and the verdicts were officially communicated to them on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, in Bukan Central Prison.
Raouf Sheikh-Ma’roufi was violently arrested on the evening of Monday, December 26, 2022, and Mohammad Faraji was arrested on Tuesday, February 21, 2024, by forces of the Intelligence Office in Bukan and transferred to the detention facility of this security institution. After months of interrogation at the Intelligence Office detention center in Urmia, both were transferred to Bukan Central Prison on Friday, June 10, 2022, where they have remained in an uncertain condition ever since.
According to received information, Mohammad Faraji had previously been arrested and, after temporary release, was targeted again by security forces. Intelligence agents in Urmia contacted him by phone, posing as customers, and asked him—since he worked as a mechanic—to come and repair a vehicle. After he arrived at the specified location, he was arrested.
During their interrogation period at the Intelligence Office detention center in Urmia, both political prisoners were subjected to severe physical and psychological pressure and torture aimed at extracting forced confessions. The issuance of death sentences for these two citizens has taken place amid serious concerns and ambiguities surrounding their legal proceedings and detention conditions.
