The Intelligence Ministry of the Islamic Republic has announced the arrest of 11 citizens in Malekshahi County, Ilam Province, in connection with the protests of December 2025. To date, the identities of these individuals, their places of detention, and their legal status have not been disclosed.
According to Kolbarnews, the Intelligence Ministry of the Islamic Republic announced the arrest of 11 citizens in Malekshahi in a statement published by state media, including the IRNA news agency.
The ministry claimed that these individuals had played an organizing role during the December 2025 protests. The security agency attributed charges to these citizens including ties to the United States and Israel, disruption of national security, and destruction of public and private property.
It also claimed that they had operated in three separate teams. The Intelligence Ministry further alleged that these individuals had access to firearms and bladed weapons.
Despite the publication of this announcement, no transparent information has been released regarding the identities of the detainees, their places of detention, or the status of their cases. The lack of information about their fate, particularly in light of previous reports of torture, forced confessions, and the denial of detainees’ access to lawyers and contact with their families, has raised serious concerns about their condition.
Previously, state media have also broadcast forced confessions by citizens arrested in Ilam Province in similar cases. On Saturday, June 20, 2025, the Mizan News Agency and the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) aired a video of a forced confession by a citizen from Ilam under the title “Arrest of Three Field Leaders and 14 American and Israeli Mercenaries.” Kurdpa sources identified the citizen as “Mehdi Karimi.”
On September 21, 2026, the Ilam Provincial Broadcasting Network also released a video containing the forced confessions of two young men from Asmanabad, identified as “Yaser Havasi-Zadeh” and “Younes Bakri.” According to published information, before the video was broadcast, the two citizens had been held at an undisclosed location for more than a month and denied contact with their families and access to a lawyer.
This year, the Intelligence Ministry has also issued several statements announcing the arrest of citizens in Ilam Province on charges related to espionage, cooperation with Israel, and ties to armed groups. However, in many of these cases, no independently verified information has been released regarding the individuals’ full identities, legal status, or places of detention.
On March 27, 2026, the Intelligence Ministry announced the arrest of a total of 46 people in five Iranian provinces, including Ilam, accusing them of cooperating with the United States and Israel and maintaining ties with armed groups. In the section concerning Ilam, the agency claimed that five people had been arrested on charges of sending information to Israel and that two Starlink devices had been seized from them.
On April 25, 2026, the Intelligence Ministry also announced the arrest of individuals in five provinces, accusing them of espionage, cooperation with armed groups, and transferring information to foreign parties. In the section concerning Ilam, the ministry reported the arrest of an individual identified by the initials “Omid A.” on charges of intelligence cooperation with Mossad and transferring information.
Previously, on June 14, 2025, the IRNA news agency reported the arrest of an individual identified by the initials “Ali H.” in Ilam. State media claimed that this individual had intended to infiltrate data centers and sensitive systems and transfer classified information.
Arresting individuals without transparent disclosure of the legal basis for their detention, denying them access to lawyers and their families, and broadcasting confessions before their cases have undergone an open and fair judicial process raise serious human rights concerns. Confessions obtained under pressure or torture lack legal and ethical validity, and broadcasting them before the charges have been proven violates the presumption of innocence. Furthermore, if it is established that individuals have been held in secret detention facilities and that their fate or whereabouts have been concealed from their families, the cases may fall under the definition of enforced disappearance.
As time passes, independently verified information about the fate of the 11 citizens arrested in Malekshahi and their ability to exercise their legal and fundamental rights remains unavailable.
