On February 6, 2024, security forces arrested Salar Taher Afshar in Urmia and subsequently transferred him to an undisclosed facility. The news of Afshar’s apprehension was disclosed by his sister.

At present, the specific reasons behind his arrest, his current whereabouts, and the charges levied against him remain undisclosed.

This recent arrest comes after Taher Afshar was previously detained on December 19, 2023. A court hearing addressing the charge of “assisting in spreading propaganda against the regime” was conducted by the Tabriz Revolutionary Court on January 27, 2024.

In 2023, the Department of Statistics and Publications of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) documented 324 cases of citizens being arrested by security forces for their advocacy of ethnic rights.