Prisoner Ali Ashraf-Khani, who had been sentenced to death for “premeditated murder”, was executed on 1 May in Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province. Ashraf-Khani, a 45-year-old man from Sarpol-e Zahab, Kermanshah Province, was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to death under the Islamic law of qisas, or retribution-in-kind, which gives the victim’s family the right to retaliate.
Read moreTwo Kurdish civilians from Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, were killed in a Turkish military drone strike along the border between Oshnavieh, West Azerbaijan Province, and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on 28 April while collecting spring herbs, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Rasoul Younesi and Ahmad Heidari lost contact with their families on 27 April after travelling to the border area. The bodies…
Read moreHemin Ahmadi, a 45-year-old kolbar, was fatally shot by Iranian border guards in the Bastam border area of Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, on 1 May. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Ahmadi, a father of one from Saqqez, was shot when a group of kolbars were targeted by border guards at close range and without warning.
Read moreKhosrow Besharat, a Kurdish prisoner of conscience on death row in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj, Alborz Province, who was transferred to solitary confinement for execution hours after the execution of his co-defendant Anvar Khezri on 1 May, is at imminent risk of execution. Besharat was one of seven Kurdish prisoners of conscience who had been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges…
Read morePrisoner Faramarz Moradi was executed on 30 April for drug-related offences in Ardabil Central Prison in Ardabil Province. Moradi, a 31-year-old man from of the village of Harkian in Salmas, West Azerbaijan Province, was sentenced to death about four years ago on charges related to drugs. On 11 February, Nojoumi Moradi, the brother of Faramarz Moradi, was also executed on charges of “premeditated murder” in Orumiyeh…
Read moreKurdish prisoner of conscience Anvar Khezri was executed this morning in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Alborz Province, after 14 years in prison, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Khezri was one of seven Kurdish prisoners of conscience who had been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges of “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz). Four of Khezri’s co-defendants, Ghassem Abasteh,…
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…
Read moreSecurity forces today arrested Khaled Ahmadi, a retired teacher and a member of the Kurdistan Teachers’ Union Association, without a warrant during a raid on his home in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Ahmadi’s arrest took place while he was scheduled to moderate an online session for the election of the Kurdistan Teachers’ Union’s executive committee. Details of the…
Read moreMostafa Hamdi, a media activist and administrator of the Porseman Telegram group who was arrested on 7 April in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, has been held in detention for three weeks without the right to access legal counsel or family visits. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that after his arrest, Hamdi was taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Sanandaj, Kurdistan…
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