The Civil Registry Office in Chaldoran, West Azerbaijan Province, has issued the death certificate of Kurdish political prisoner Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou, several weeks after his secret execution, and handed it over to his family. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the certificate was officially issued on 5 May, following a visit by the prisoner’s family to the local civil registry office. The document…
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Motalleb Ahmadian, a 42-year-old Kurdish political prisoner serving the 15th year of a 30-year sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison, went on a hunger strike on 5 May, protesting the Tehran Prosecutor’s refusal to grant him medical leave or suspend his sentence despite his deteriorating health. Ahmadian suffers from a number of serious illnesses, including duodenal cancer, diaphragmatic hernia, spinal canal stenosis, and a urinary tract…
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Kurdish political prisoners Vahid Chavaran, Nasser Rezaei, and Mohammad Hassan Hasseli, who were sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in exile following their arrest during the anti-government Women, Life, Freedom uprising, have been secretly transferred to remote prisons across Iran. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that on 4 May, Chavaran, Rezaei and Hasseli were transferred from Ilam Central Prison to Zahedan Prison in…
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The Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has prevented the temporary leave of Kurdish political prisoner Khaled Zamani, despite the approval of the prison authorities and the prosecutor in Yazd, Yazd Province. Zamani, who is currently serving the 17th year of a 30-year sentence in Yazd Central Prison, had received permission for a temporary leave from the prison’s Classification Council and the…
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Branch 31 of the Court of Administrative Justice has upheld the dismissal of Somayyeh Akhtar-Shomar, a 37-year-old Kurdish teacher from Marivan, Kurdistan Province, with 17 years of service. The original decision to dismiss the Kurdish teacher was taken on 17 March 2024 by the Primary Disciplinary Committee of Civil Servants in Kurdistan Province. The authorities accused Akhtar-Shomar of “supporting and assisting opposition groups”, “publishing offensive content…
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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…
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Ministry of Intelligence agents arrested Hassan Ahmadi, a Kurdish artist from Maku, West Azerbaijan Province, on 27 April, taking him to an undisclosed location. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the agents raided Ahmadi’s home and arrested him without a warrant after searching the property. Despite repeated efforts by Ahmadi’s family to find out about his fate, the security and judicial authorities have…
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Hamed Geravand, a prisoner from Kuhdasht, Lorestan Province, has died by suicide after his request for prison leave was rejected in Gheymas Prison in Mahidasht, Kermanshah Province. Geravand, 34, ended his life by taking an overdose of pills on 27 April. On 27 April, Geravand met with a deputy prosecutor in Kermanshah’s judiciary, identified as Eini, to discuss the possibility of another period of leave. However, the…
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Kurdish Sunni cleric Saber Khoda-Moradi has been sentenced to prison, while fellow cleric Ayat Gholami has been arrested, in a renewed wave of crackdowns by the Special Clerical Courts. The Special Clerical Court in Hamadan recently sentenced Saber Khoda-Moradi, the Friday prayer leader of the town of Qawakh in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, to 22 months in prison. He had already received a 15-month prison sentence in…
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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
Iran executed at least seven prisoners in April, four being on drug-related charges, two on charges of “premeditated murder”, and one political prisoner on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi), according to KHRN’s findings.
On 21 April, the family of Kurdish political prisoner Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou was summoned to the Orumiyeh Prosecutor’s Office and informed that the prisoner had been executed. The Deputy Prosecutor, Behzad Sarkhanlou, informed them that the prisoner had been transferred from Orumiyeh to Tehran and that his death sentence had been carried out.
*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 April, a Kurdish woman was reported to have been the victim of femicide. On 3 April, Azita Fallahi, a 36-year-old mother of two, was beaten to death by her husband in Sonqor, Kermanshah Province.
Kolbars
Last month, at least one man died of cardiac arrest while working as a kolbar and two others were shot and wounded by Iranian border guards in the Baneh border area.
Detentions and arrests
In April, Iranian forces arrested at least 11 people, two of whom were sent to prison to serve their sentences.
Sentences
During this period, Iranian courts sentenced a religious activist to 22 months in prison and another man to five months in prison and a fine.