Security forces raided the home of Kurdish Sunni cleric Mohammad Sharifi in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, arresting him without a warrant on 27 August. Sources indicate that during the operation, officers forced their way into the cleric’s home, breaking doors and windows in the process. They also confiscated his personal belongings. Details of the charges brought against Sharifi and his current whereabouts remain unknown. The incident follows…
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The Special Clerical Court of Hamadan, in west Iran, has recently summoned Sunni Kurdish clerics Madeh Karami and Abdoljabbar Lotfi for their support of anti-government protests. Karami, the imam of the village of Huyeh in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, was summoned to appear in court on 21 May. Lotfi, a teacher and imam at the Ershad mosque in Sanandaj, has been summoned to the clerics’ court for…
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The Special Clerical Court in Hamadan in western Iran sentenced Sunni Kurdish cleric Seyyed Jalal Akbari to two years suspended imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the state” on 10 May. Akbari, the imam of a mosque in the village of Degagah in Sarvabad, Kurdistan province, was tried on 10 May and was informed of the court’s decision on the same day. Since late March, the…
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The interrogation session of the Kurdish journalist Ejlal Ghavami was carried out at Branch 5 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, on 11 September. Ghavami is accused of “propaganda against the state”. Reportedly, the Prosecutor’s Office cited some of the journalist’s writings and his signature on several statements as examples leading to this accusation. After the investigation session, Ghavami was temporarily released…
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At the same time as the intensification of the Iranian military forces targeting kolbars in the country’s western border areas, the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Sardasht, West Azerbaijan province, have threatened admins of Telegram news channels over publishing information on the shootings. In the past week, Iran’s Border Guard Command forces…
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Iranian Cyber Police (FATA) has summoned and interrogated today Kurdish journalist and environmental activist Mohammad Mamandzadeh in Sardasht, West Azerbaijan province. FATA summoned the journalist on the Sardasht public prosecutor’s orders over publishing an article on the Bzhwen telegram channel about water cuts and a project to transfer water from the Littel Zab River. The Kurdish activist was released after interrogation and pledging. In recent days, Rabat…
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The Yarsan Civil Rights Activists’ Advisory Council said in a statement that a group of its members, along with several other Yarsani activists, have gone on hunger strike yesterday for 48 hours in support of and in solidarity with Kheyrollah Haghjouyan, a detained member of the council. Haghjouyan had gone on hunger strike since his arrest on 28 June, protesting against his detention. He continues…
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Sources of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) in various cities of Iranian Kurdistan report that a score of civilians have been summoned and interrogated by security agencies over the past month for allegedly publishing information in favour of boycotting the upcoming presidential election. According to these sources, in the past month, the offices of the Ministry of Intelligence and the Intelligence Organisation of the…
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Iranian intelligence agencies have summoned more than 50 Kurdish activists in many Kurdish cities before Newroz celebrations, threatening them and banning the celebrations. Every year on 20 March, Kurds in different regions celebrate Newroz (known as Nowruz in Persian) by lighting fire and dancing. But as in the years before, the Intelligence Office and the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have…
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The Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s (KHRN) recent investigations have revealed numerous cases of human rights violations against Kurdish civilians and activists from Iran in August 2023.
Our Documentation and Statistics Centre has compiled a comprehensive report on the various violations perpetrated against these individuals, which we present in this monthly report.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s (KHRN) recent investigations have revealed numerous cases of human rights violations against Kurdish civilians and activists from Iran in August 2023.
Our Documentation and Statistics Centre has compiled a comprehensive report on the various violations perpetrated against these individuals, which we present in this monthly report.
Executions
According to these findings, Iran executed at least 13 prisoners over the past month in Sanandaj, Saqqez, Khorramabad, Karaj, Hamadan, and Dezful.
While three prisoners were executed on charges of “premeditated murder”, 10 were executed for drug-related offences.
These are the executions of which the KHRN has been informed by its sources. However, the number of those executed is likely to be higher.
Kolbars and tradesmen
In August, at least four kolbars were killed and 16 were injured in the country’s western border areas.
Of these, 18 were shot by Iranian border guards and one was killed after he was hit by a military vehicle of the border forces.
In addition, one kolbar was injured after being shot by Iraqi border forces in the Choman border of Baneh on 7 August.
Killings of civilians
On 17 August, a Kurdish soldier from Maku, West Azerbaijan Province, was shot dead at a military base in Qasr-e Shirin, Kermanshah Province.
Work accidents
Over the past month, at least six workers lost their lives in work accidents in Qasr-e Shirin, Tabriz, Saqqez, Maku, Javanrud and Ilam.
Detentions and arrests
Throughout August, Iranian forces arrested at least 60 civilians, including activists, journalists, Kurdish Sunni clerics and two children.
Two of these civilians were detained to serve prison sentences in Ilam and Naqadeh.
Prison sentences
Over the past month, Iranian courts sentenced at least 10 people to prison terms ranging from six months to a total of 16 and a half years.
Half of these sentences were handed down by Branch 101 of the Criminal Court of Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province.