Arrest

Arash Olfati, a Kurdish civil rights activist from Gilan-e-Gharb in Kermanshah Province and resident of Hamadan in Hamadan Province, was arrested by the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Hamadan on 15 August.

He was subsequently transferred to an IRGC Intelligence detention facility in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province.

Defendant’s Rights

Following the arrest of Olfati and several others from Gilan-e-Gharb in August, Hamidreza Karimi, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Kermanshah, spoke to state media on 15 August and said: “For some time now, two channels on the social networks Instagram and Telegram have been operating in one of the western cities of the province with the aim of dividing people. In view of the activities of these two channels, security and intelligence forces have taken action under a court order to identify the administrators of these channels.”

During his arrest, Olfati was denied the right to meet with his family or to have access to legal representation.

Current Status

Olfati was provisionally released on bail on 27 August.