Hussain Hazbavi 
Abadan, Ahwaz — June 22, 2025
Iranian security forces have arrested Mohammed Ascharawi (Asakereh), a 16-year-old Ahwazi Arab poet and resident of the Saleech neighborhood in the city of Abadan, according to local human rights sources.
Mohammed, the son of Abdulredha Ascharawi, was detained without any legal warrant or judicial order, after being summoned twice by the Iranian intelligence services in recent weeks. On the third encounter, security agents raided his home and forcibly arrested him.
Sources confirmed that the teenager was taken to an unknown location, following a public poetry recital in Khalafiya, where he read a poem sharply critical of the ruling clerics in Tehran. Since his arrest, no information has been released regarding his whereabouts or legal status.
Mohammed Ascharawi is recognized as one of the emerging young voices in Ahwazi resistance poetry, with his work focusing on Arab identity, the preservation of the native language, and the daily suffering of the Ahwazi people under Iranian rule.
His arrest adds to a growing pattern of crackdowns on cultural expression and youth activism in the region, especially targeting those who use poetry and art to resist systemic discrimination and assimilation policies enforced by the Islamic Republic.
