Badreh, Ilam: 19-year-old Erfan Karamvisi taken to an unknown location

Erfan Karamvisi, a 19-year-old from the village of Pakelgerab in Badreh county, Ilam province, was arrested by the Islamic Republic's security forces on Saturday, 17 October 2026. The Hana human rights organisation said that after his arrest the young man was taken to an unknown location, and as of publication of this report nothing is known about the reason for his arrest or the charges against him.

According to the information published, Erfan Karamvisi's arrest was carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organisation, and agents stormed his family home to detain him. Government bodies have so far given no explanation about the arrest, and his family does not know where he is being held.

Arbitrary arrest and no word on where he is held

Transferring detainees to an unknown location, without the family being told which body made the arrest, where the person is held or what the charge is, is a standard method of the Islamic Republic's security bodies. Human rights organisations have repeatedly warned that the first days and weeks of detention in IRGC Intelligence detention centres, without access to a lawyer, greatly raise the risk of pressure to extract forced confessions.

In the months since the January (Dey) uprising, Ilam province has been one of the centres of arrests of young people. Not long ago, the Ilam Intelligence Department also announced the arrest of 11 people in Malekshahi on charges of a role in the Dey uprising. This same week the Revolutionary Court of Izeh also sentenced 19 Bahmai citizens to prison for attending a memorial gathering, a sign that the repression of citizens continues in the western and south-western provinces of Iran.

The repression of the young generation

The arrest of young people, many of whom took part in the Dey uprising, is an important part of the wave of repression in recent months. By carrying out scattered arrests in small towns and villages, which draw less media attention, the security bodies try to keep an atmosphere of fear alive in society.

Erfan Karamvisi, 19, was taken to an unknown location after his arrest in Badreh, Ilam, and the charge against him is unclear.