HRANA – Serkan Eren, a 42-year-old aid worker and Turkish citizen residing in Germany who has been detained in Iran for more than a year, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by an Iranian court.

According to HRANA, citing Deutsche Welle Persian, Serkan Eren, an aid worker and Turkish citizen residing in Germany, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a court in Iran.

STELP, a Stuttgart-based aid organization, said the sentence was issued against Mr. Eren in connection with the charge of “having ties with a hostile country.”

According to the report, Serkan Eren traveled to Iran on June 24, 2025, as a humanitarian aid worker to distribute donated supplies from Germany. He intended to leave Iran that same day, but contact with his family was cut off, and he has remained in detention ever since.

STELP protested the sentence, describing the punishment as disproportionate to the circumstances of the case. The organization said that, in order to protect the safety of Serkan Eren and others involved, it would not release further details about the case at this time.

The organization also said that, given Mr. Eren’s Turkish citizenship, it is in contact with Turkish authorities to follow up on his situation and secure his return.

According to Deutsche Welle Persian, before traveling to Iran, Mr. Eren told Germany’s ARD television network that, in order to avoid any misunderstandings, he was not carrying any communications or protective equipment, including a satellite phone, bulletproof vest, or helmet, and had entered Iran carrying only a backpack.

Serkan Eren began his humanitarian aid work in 2015, during the refugee crisis in Europe. In 2023, he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from the country’s president.

Deutsche Welle has described Eren as a “Turkish-German citizen.” However, members of the STELP aid organization told HRANA that he does not hold German citizenship and is only a resident of Germany.