A young Kurdish man arrested by Iranian police on “drug-related” charges in Tehran on 7 April, has lost his life suspiciously in a police detention centre. The family of the 25-year-old Milad Jafari, from Kermanshah in western Iran, claimed that their son had lost his life due to “torture”. “Milad Jafari was violently arrested by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department on 7 April, along with…
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Iranian police have shot and killed two Yarsani Kurdish civilians near a village in Dalahu, in the western province of Kermanshah, on 14 March. The bodies of the two civilians named Sourat Sayyadi and Pourya Rezaei were taken to the department of forensic medicine in Sarpol-e-Zahab in Kermanshah province and have not been returned to their families yet. A source who spoke to the Kurdistan Human…
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Iranian police shot and killed a young Kurdish man named Mohammad Ahmadi Matin in Kermanshah, in the west, on 28 January. “On Friday, 28 January, some police officers in Kermanshah’s Arya Shahr [neighbourhood] had an argument with Mohammad Ahmadi Matin while he was parking his car in Shohada Square in Kermanshah. Then, Matin and his mother, who was in the car, drove to their house…
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A seven years old child has been shot dead by Iranian police in Charuymaq district of West Azerbaijan province, in the northwest, on 19 January. Reportedly, the police opened fire on a moving vehicle and shot Mizgin Palangi, who was in the vehicle, in the head. After the news of the incident was widely reacted to on social media, security officers pressured and threatened the child’s…
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The special forces of the Iranian police reportedly shot and killed a Kurdish civilian named Yasser Mohammadi in Kermanshah on 23 October. Special forces said they opened fire on Mohammadi’s vehicle as he was “suspicious” and “ignored their warning”. The civilian’s family have denied these claims. Speaking on how the civilian was killed, one of his relatives spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) and…
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Iran’s anti-smuggling department opened fire on a civilian vehicle and killed a Kurdish civilian named Farhad Zandi on the Sanandaj-Dehgolan highway in Kurdistan province on 7 November. Confirming the news, a relative of the civilian told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN): “At 18:00 yesterday [7 November], a special patrol of the Anti-Smuggling Office of the Law Enforcement Forces [of the Islamic Republic of Iran]…
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Iranian intelligence ministry in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province, has told in a phone call to the Kurdish civilian Yasser Mangouri’s family that their forces shot and killed him during his detention on 17 July. Although the news on Yasser Mangouri’s detention circulated shortly after 17 July, the phone call came nearly two months later, on 12 September. Over the past two months, as there was no…
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Iranian police has shot a group of people fighting each other, killing a civilian and injuring another in Darreh Drezh of Kermanshah province. Kurdish civilian Sirwan Mohammadi has lost his life and Ali Ahmadi has been seriously injured in the shooting that took place on 17 March. Ahmadi has been taken to hospital and is currently being held in the ICU, sources told the Kurdistan…
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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 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 April to 30 April.
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
According to KHRN’s findings, Iran executed at least six prisoners in April, four on drug-related charges and two for “premeditated murder”.
The executions took place in prisons in Orumiyeh, Hamadan, Kerman, Karaj, Saqqez, and Ardabil.
*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.
Landmine explosions
In the past month, landmine explosions killed a civilian in Gilan-e Gharb and injured another in Saqqez.
Kolbars and tradesmen
During this period, at least four kolbars were shot dead by Iranian border guards and 22 kolbars were injured.
Of the injured, 18 were shot by Iranian border guards, two fell from heights at the border, one was beaten and one was injured during the pursuit of the border guards.
Detentions and arrests
Throughout April, Iranian forces arrested at least 45 civilians, including eight activists, a journalist, and a former political prisoner.
At least 13 of the detained civilians were sent to prisons in Oshnavieh and Naqadeh to serve prison sentences.
Sentences
In the past month, Iranian courts have sentenced at least 10 people to punishments ranging from three months to 10 years in prison.
Among those sentenced was Kurdish rapper Saman Yasin, who was sentenced to five years of exile imprisonment in Babak, Kerman Province, by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran after one year and seven months of detention.