Kurdistan Human Rights Network

Arrest Haji Barzeh, a Kurdish language teacher from Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan Province, and a member of the Bayan Kurdish Language Institute, was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence in Piranshahr on 8 May 2024 and taken to the ministry’s detention centre in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province. After initial interrogation, he was transferred to Naqadeh Prison and later provisionally released on 27 May 2024 on bail of...

Arrest Soroush Nourbakhsh, a student from Mahabad studying Global Music Performance (Guitar) at the University of Art in Tehran, was arrested on 1 February 2025 after being summoned to the office of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Mahabad. Defendant’s Rights He was summoned via a phone call and arrested without a warrant, and has since been denied family visits and access...

Arrest Servat Sohrabi, a cultural activist from Javanrud, Kermanshah Province, who lives in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Kermanshah on 5 February 2025. Defendant’s Rights He was arrested without a warrant and has since been denied family visits and access to legal representation. Despite his family’s repeated attempts to obtain information about his fate, security and judicial authorities have refused...

Susan Hassanzadeh, a civil rights activist and Kurdish language teacher from Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, has 17 years of experience teaching Kurdish in Bukan and its surrounding villages. Over the years, she has been repeatedly summoned and interrogated by security forces due to her activities. Arrest Hassanzadeh was beaten and arrested by security forces on a street in the city on 15 May 2024 and was taken...

Azad Abbasi, a Kurdish language teacher from Dehgolan, Kurdistan Province, and the head of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, has been repeatedly summoned and detained by security forces in recent years due to his civil rights activities. Arrest Abbasi was arrested by security forces in Dehgolan on 19 September 2023 and taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province.  After a few days he...

Reza Alaei, a filmmaker from Baneh, Kurdistan Province, has directed several short and feature films, including Zaminhayeh Kasif (Dirty Lands) and Bi 6.  Arrest  Alaei was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Baneh as he was leaving his home on 11 September 2024.  Defendant's Rights  He was arrested without a warrant and was denied family visits and access to legal representation during his detention. Current Status  Alaei...

Arrest Omid Ahmadnezhad, a Kurdish singer, was arrested on 3 September 2024 following a raid by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran on his home in the village of Qojiabad in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province. Defendant’s Rights He was denied the right to meet with his family and have access to legal representation during his detention. Current Status Ahmadnezhad was provisionally released from...

Arrest Ashkan Fahim was arrested along with several other activists during a raid on his home in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, by dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence agents on 15 September 2023. The military-security forces forcibly arrested the activist after breaking down the doors and windows of his house. Fahim suffered bleeding injuries after being hit by the butt of a soldier's rifle. He was...

Saman Seyedi, known as Saman Yasin, is an artist from Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, living in Tehran. Before his arrest, he had sung several songs protesting social and economic conditions. Arrest Yasin was arrested by security forces at his home in Tehran during the anti-government uprising of Women, Life, Freedom on 2 October 2022, and directly transferred to the Security Prosecutor’s Office in Evin Prison. He spent the...