Prison guards and security officers raided the political and religious prisoners’ ward in Orumiyeh Central Prison today, destroying prisoners’ belongings and beating Kurdish political prisoners Keyvan Rashozadeh and Kamran Ghassemi. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that that around 10 guards and prison officials took part in the raid, which was ordered by the prison director, Peyman Khanzadeh, citing the presence of mobile…
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Kurdish prisoners of conscience Arash Gholizadeh and Ardavan Tahourian, who have separately gone on hunger strike in Orumiyeh Central Prison, in West Azerbaijan Province, are demanding access to medical treatment and the right to temporary leave. Gholizadeh, a Kurdish religious prisoner from Orumiyeh, who is in the third year of a 10-year sentence, began his hunger strike on 15 March, in protest at being denied…
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Hassan Omarpour, a Kurdish prisoner serving a 10-year sentence in Orumiyeh Central Prison, began a hunger strike on 14 April to demand a retrial and to protest insults against his family by the prosecutor of Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Omarpour was transferred to solitary confinement on 15 April following the start of his hunger strike and…
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Kurdish civil rights activist Khadijeh Mehdipour was detained by the Morality Police at Tehran’s Nabard metro station on 16 April for wearing non-conforming clothing. Mehdipour, a former political prisoner originally from Eyvan-e Gharb in Ilam Province who lives in Tehran, was released after a few hours in custody. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Morality Police officers beat Mehdipour during her arrest and…
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Municipal authorities in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, today sealed off a bookstore called Zhira, citing “non-compliance with Islamic hijab”, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. The bookstore, run by Zhina Modares Gorji, a former political prisoner and women’s rights activist, was closed under Articles 27 and 28 of the Guild Regulation Law. On 15 April, the authorities notified Modares Gorji of the impending closure, giving…
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Kurdish civilian Bahman Naderi has been sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 80 million rials (nearly 115 USD) by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, on charges of “propaganda against the state”. Naderi, from Kermanshah, was arrested by agents of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Kermanshah on 12 September 2023,…
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Whereabouts of Kurdish retired teacher and civil rights activist Salman Olfati, who was arrested by the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Gilan-e Gharb, Kermanshah Province, on 12 April, remain unknown. Olfati, 60, was arrested on a street in Gilan-e Gharb and taken to an undisclosed location. IRGC intelligence agents also conducted a raid on the activist’s family home without presenting a…
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Two kolbars were killed by gunfire from Iranian border guards in separate incidents in the border areas of Bitush in Sardasht, West Azerbaijan Province, and Bastam in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, on 13 April. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that a group of kolbars in the mountainous areas of Bitush village in Sardasht were targeted by border guards, resulting in the death of…
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Saman Oveysi, a 21-year-old Kurdish civilian, has been detained following a telephone summons to the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, in recent days. Details of Oveysi’s place of detention and the specific charges against him remain unknown at this time. Over the past three weeks, at least 19 Kurdish civilians and activists have been arrested in the…
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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.