- Prisoner executed in Kermanshah after premeditated murder conviction
- In their own words: Final accounts of Nasser Bakerzadeh and Mehrab Abdollahzadeh
- Monthly Report of April 2026
- Iran secretly executes Kurdish political prisoner Mehrab Abdollahzadeh in Orumiyeh
- Iran secretly executes two men accused of espionage in Orumiyeh
- Imminent execution feared as three prisoners transferred to unknown locations
- Three death row prisoners in Orumiyeh transferred to unknown locations
- Iran sentences detained mother to death without legal counsel
- Death row Kurdish political prisoner transferred to solitary for protesting guard’s abuse
- Death sentence of Kurdish man upheld after two previous overturns
- Kurdish woman with chronic illnesses detained in Bukan, family denied contact
- Kurdish artist, sister released on bail after 36 days in custody
NEWS
Iran secretly executes Kurdish political prisoner Mehrab Abdollahzadeh in Orumiyeh
Kurdish political prisoner Mehrab Abdollahzadeh has been executed in secret at Orumiyeh Central Prison, without any notification to his family…
Read More
Iran secretly executes two men accused of espionage in Orumiyeh
Iranian authorities secretly executed prisoners Nasser Bakerzadeh, a Kurdish Sunni, and Yaghoub Karimpour, an Azerbaijani Turkic Yarsan citizen with a…
Read More
PINNED
Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s Annual Report – 2025
In 2025, Iran faced a series of unprecedented and multi-layered developments across the military, political and social spheres, developments that…
Read MorePolitical prisoners face execution risk amid escalating conflict
Concerns over the safety of prisoners, particularly political prisoners, have sharply intensified following the onset of US and Israeli military…
Read MoreIran court hands death penalty to two Kurdish political prisoners
Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, has sentenced Kurdish political prisoners Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi and…
Read MorePUBLICATIONS
In their own words: Final accounts of Nasser Bakerzadeh and Mehrab Abdollahzadeh
Kurdish prisoners Nasser Bakerzadeh and Mehrab Abdollahzadeh were secretly executed on 2 May at Orumiyeh Central Prison. Authorities have so far refused to hand over the bodies to their
Read MoreIran: Thousands of prisoners at risk
Detainees Face Dual Threat of Government Atrocities, US/Israeli Attacks Thousands of detainees in Iran, including political prisoners and children, are…
KHRN documents 240 Kurdish deaths in 2026 protests in Iran
At least 240 Kurdish citizens have been confirmed killed during the violent suppression of the recent protests across Iran, marking…
Kurdish citizens killed in protests across Iran
Following mass protests that began on 28 December 2025 and continued widely for at least two weeks across cities in…
In its monthly reports, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) highlights cases of human rights violations in Kurdistan and violations of the rights of Kurdish citizens in different regions and cities across Iran.
This report includes all cases recorded and reported by KHRN from across Iran through its own sources and verification mechanisms from 1 April to 30 April 2026.
The restrictive environment for independent human rights organisations in Iran, coupled with the pressures faced by individuals subjected to human rights violations and their families, make it difficult to publish accurate and comprehensive reports.
It is therefore important to note that the statistics and information presented in this report do not cover all cases of human rights violations. This report is the result of examining news and reports published by the KHRN and fact-checking of reports published by other human rights organisations and news websites.
Detentions and arrests
In April, at least 12 individuals were arrested across West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Ilam provinces. Those arrested included two language teachers, while in 10 cases their specific activities remain unknown.
Of the total number of arrests, 10 were made in West Azerbaijan Province, one in Kurdistan Province, and one in Ilam Province.
Sentences
In April, Mohsen Eslamkhah, a 20-year-old Kurdish citizen who was arrested in connection with the “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising in Bukan, was sentenced to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad.
Additionally, Branch 39 of the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Nasser Bakerzadeh, a 26-year-old Kurdish prisoner in Orumiyeh Central Prison; he was subsequently executed on 2 May.
Three PDKI members killed in IRGC attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan
On 17 April, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) killed at least three members of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in drone and missile strikes on civilian camps and party installations in Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The attacks took place despite a two-week ceasefire having been announced between the United States, Israel, and Iran, at the time, and killed Neda Miri from Sanandaj, Samira Allah-Yari from Divandarreh, and Shahin Azarbarzin from Piranshahr.
- Detentions and arrests
- Sentences