Rabi Tupa Ebrahimi detained at gunpoint on his way to Zavat Dam in Chalus

Rabi Tupa Ebrahimi, a 32-year-old protester, was detained at gunpoint on 24 August 2026 in Chalus while travelling with his family to Zavat Dam. Nearly two months after the arrest, his family still does not know where he is being held or what condition he is in.

A well-informed source told Iran International that agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization arrested him. According to this source, since the day of his arrest Rabi Tupa Ebrahimi has been denied phone calls and visits with his family and has had no access to a lawyer. The authorities of the Islamic Republic have so far given no explanation about his arrest, the possible charges against him or where he is being held.

Arbitrary arrest before the family's eyes

Arresting a citizen at gunpoint and in front of his family, without showing a warrant or the detaining body identifying itself, is a pattern that has been repeated many times in the months since the January uprising. Prolonged detention in an unknown location, denial of a lawyer and severance of contact with the family are the very conditions that human rights organisations regard as a setting for pressure to extract forced confessions.

His case joins a long list of citizens who have vanished into silence after being detained by security bodies, among them news photographer Majid Saeedi, who is still missing 41 days after his arrest. In these same weeks, the Qazvin Intelligence Directorate announced the arrest of 39 protesters from the January uprising, without naming the detainees or saying where they are held.

Nearly two months after being arrested at gunpoint, Rabi Tupa Ebrahimi is held in an unknown location, without a lawyer and without visits.