A session was held at the Second Investigation Branch of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, where Kurdish civil rights activists Fatemeh Zand-Karimi, Zara Mohammadi, Sohrab Jalali, Mokhtar Asadi, Kamal Fakourian, Jamil Amini, and Jamal Asadi were formally charged. The activists were later released on bail. The Ministry of Intelligence reportedly pressured the judiciary to prosecute these activists following a demonstration…
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The detention orders of three Kurdish civilians, Faryad Hajizadeh, Azhdar Doudkanlou Milan and Zabet Valilou Ghezelbash, who are currently being held in Salmas Prison in West Azerbaijan Province, have been extended for another month, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Hajizadeh and Doudkanlou Milan were arrested in Salmas, while Valilou Ghezelbash was arrested in the village of Gwezak, also in Salmas, by agents…
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Ministry of Intelligence agents conducted a series of raids in several villages on 23 February in Miandoab, West Azerbaijan Province, arresting six Kurdish civilians. The detainees, Khalegh Rahimi, Sedigh Abbasnezhad, Behzad Barjasteh, Keyvan Barjasteh, Shahab Tavan, and Nima Ghorbanzadeh, were all taken to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the Ministry of…
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Kurdish shopkeeper Zahed Khaledian has been released on bail, while activist Parvin Adwai has been moved from solitary confinement to an ordinary ward and former political prisoner Afshin Hossein-Panahi has been transferred to prison after initial interrogation, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Khaledian, who was arrested in connection with the general strike in protest at the death sentences handed down to Kurdish…
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Ministry of Intelligence agents arrested Javad Savari, the brother of Foad Savari, who was killed during the anti-government Women, Life, Feedom protests in Divandarreh, Kurdistan Province. He was arrested on 16 February after being summoned by telephone to the Ministry of Intelligence’s office in Divandarreh, and taken to an undisclosed location. Savari has faced repeated pressure and threats from the security services over the past two…
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Kurdish civilians Fayegh Rashidian, Farzad Nouri, Behrouz Feyzi, Pouria Ahmadi, Danesh Sharafi, Soroush Nourbakhsh, and Farzad Mardoukhi, who were arrested by security forces in Baneh, Saqqez, Sanandaj, Dehgolan, and Mahabad in recent weeks, remain in detention. Mardoukhi, from Kamyaran, Kurdistan Province, who was one of the detainees of the anti-government Women, Life, Freedom protests, was arrested in late December 2024 by the Ministry of Intelligence…
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Four days after the arrest of Kurdish civilian Omid Fagheh-Hosseinzadeh in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, his whereabouts remain unknown. Security forces arrested Fagheh-Hosseinzadeh at his home on 11 February, transferring him to an undisclosed location. Since his arrest, he has been denied access to legal counsel and family visits.
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Hawre Shafei, a civilian from Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in the city and taken to an unknown location on 5 February. Security forces arrested Shafei at his workplace in Shahnaz Square, Saqqez, without a warrant. There is no information on the charges against him or his place of detention.
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Ministry of Intelligence agents arrested Kamran Sakhtemangar, a Kurdish labour activist and former political prisoner, in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, on 5 February. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Ministry of Intelligence forces detained him in Jami Street without presenting a judicial warrant. Sakhtemangar has been repeatedly targeted by security agencies due to his labour activism. He was arrested on 29 September 2022 during the…
Read moreIn its monthly reports, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) highlights cases of human rights violations in Kurdistan and violations of the rights of Kurdish civilians 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 February to 28 February.
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.
Executions
Iran executed at least eight prisoners in February, five being on charges of “premeditated murder”, two on drug-related charges and one for rape, according to KHRN’s findings.
While seven of the executions took place in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Alborz Province, Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, and Mahabad Central Prison in West Azerbaijan Province, one prisoner was publicly executed in Esfarayen, North Khorasan Province.
*Explanation: The KHRN, recognizing the fundamental right to life, publishes and records news and execution statistics without regard to the ethnic background of individuals and the location of the execution. All cases reported to the organisation by credible sources are published after thorough fact-checking.
Femicide
In February, a Kurdish woman was reported to have been the victim of femicide. On 17 February, Seyyedeh Donya Hosseini, a 23-year-old woman, was stabbed to death by her father in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province.
Kolbars
In this period, at least one man was killed while working as a kolbar in the border areas. Amin Hosseini, a 47-year-old kolbar from Sarvabad, Kurdistan Province, died after being caught in an avalanche in the border region of Marivan, Kurdistan Province, on 9 February.
Detentions and arrests
In February, Iranian forces arrested at least 30 people, at least five of whom were sent to prison to serve sentences ranging from three to six months.
Sentences
During this period, Iranian courts sentenced at least four people to prison sentences ranging from three to 24 months.