Explosions of landmines in Iran’s northwestern border areas have injured four young kolbars in the late hours of 21 February. Kolbars Kianoush Raufi, 24, Foad Bitoushi, and Amanj (last name unknown) were injured on their way to the border areas of Hangeh-ye Zhal in Baneh, Kurdistan province. The three kolbars were taken to one of the surrounding villages with the help of a group of kolbars…
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Landmine explosions in Iran’s western Ilam province and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq killed a child and a 39-year-old man on 26 December. “A 10-year-old nomadic child was grazing livestock in the border area near Abu Ghoveyr village in the city of Dehloran. After the animals stepped on the landmine, the shrapnel from the explosion hit the child in the chest”, said the city police chief…
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A young kolbar named Arvin Showkati has been injured today in a landmine explosion in the Hangeh-ye Zhal border area in Baneh, Kurdistan province. The 18-year-old kolbar has been taken to Salahuddin Ayoubi Hospital in Baneh for treatment. Showkati is a resident of Saqqez in Kurdistan province.
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Iranian border guards shot and injured two Kurdish civilians in the border areas of Sardasht, West Azerbaijan province, on 29 October. Separately, the explosion of a landmine in the region on 28 October caused injury to another civilian. Iranian border forces shot a shepherd named Azad in the leg and his wife Shler in the arm while grazing livestock close to a military outpost near the…
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Two Kurdish civilians have been injured in recent days in separate landmine explosions in Bisotun, Kermanshah province, and the village of Jandaran in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province. Reportedly, a shepherd was injured in the right leg this morning due to a landmine explosion in an abandoned military base in the Jandaran village of Khalifan district, Mahabad. In an interview with Haje news agency, Khalifan district governor…
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The explosion of a landmine left over from the Iran-Iraq war in a military base in the Nowsud border area in Kermanshah province has injured Rasoul Rahmani, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on 14 October. The IRGC member was severely injured in the left leg. He was transferred to a medical centre in Kermanshah for treatment. Every year, dozens of civilians in the…
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An unexploded bomb from the Iran-Iraq war went off yesterday, killing two Kurdish civilians in Saqqez, Kurdistan province. Maghsoud Najafi and Rashid Ahmadzadeh lost their lives in the blast while grazing livestock near Bastam village of Saqqez, sources said. Reportedly, the two civilians rented a pasture in Bastam village some time ago and were engaged in animal husbandry in the area. Najafi was a resident of Marjanabad…
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Civilian Sherko Mohammadpour has lost one of his feet in a landmine explosion near the village of Beweran in Sardasht, West Azerbaijan province, on 25 May, sources told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). After the incident, he was taken to a hospital in Sardasht. The civilian is said to have stepped on a landmine left over from the Iran-Iraq war while grazing livestock. On 12 May,…
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A 45-year-old farmer from the village of Hasanabad in Eslamabad-e Gharb, Kermanshah province, has been severely injured due to the explosion of a landmine during work in the field in midday, on 19 May. “Hasanabad police officers have found out in their investigation that the hands and feet of a 45-year-old man were injured in the explosion of a landmine – left over from 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 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.