Khaled Mahmoudi, a Kurdish civilian who was arrested by Iranian security forces during the recent anti-government protests in Javanrud, Kermanshah province, was released from Kermanshah Central Prison today after four months in prison under a judicial amnesty.
Security forces arrested the 19-year-old civilian on 22 November 2022 after a raid on the home of one of his friends.
At the same time, the security forces arrested 18 other young people in the towns of Javanrud and Ravansar, some of whom were friends of Mahmoudi.
After a few weeks, the detainees were released on bail. Mahmoudi, however, remained in Kermanshah Central Prison in a state of uncertainty.
In early February, a source close to the young man’s family had spoken to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) and said: “After his arrest in Javanrud, Khaled was taken to the detention facility of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] in Kermanshah. He was subjected to physical torture for 37 days in solitary confinement for forced confessions. Security interrogators forced him to confess to leading part of the Javanrud protests and participating in the burning of a Basij house in the city. However, in an online court hearing, Khaled Mahmudi told the judge that the charges included in the case were based on confessions obtained from him through pressure, torture and threats while in detention.”
