Kolbar Fardin Veysi was severely injured by gunfire from Iranian border guards in the Hangeh-ye Zhal border area of Baneh, Kurdistan Province, on 6 April. Veysi was among a group of kolbars who were shot by border guards with pellet guns at close range and without warning, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. He sustained serious injuries to his abdomen and hand from the…
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This report addresses the violations of the human rights of Kurdish civilians in Iran during the Iranian year 1402 (21 March 2023 – 19 March 2024). As in previous years, the rights of Kurdish people have continued to be violated due to their language, religions, culture, genders, sexual orientations, and class and political affiliations by the Islamic Republic’s discriminatory laws and repressive and violent…
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Three Sunni Kurdish religious activists have been subjected to enforced disappearance since their arrest by security forces in August 2022, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Brothers Jamshid Ahmadi and Afshin Ahmadi were arrested by security forces in Sanandaj on 18 August 2022, while Shahram Ebadian, their sister’s husband, was also detained by plainclothes officers the following day, 19 August, when he visited…
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Security forces arrested Kurdish civilians Kamran Badbrout and Faraj Arsan on 3 April and took them to an undisclosed location for their participation in the Newroz (also known as Nowruz in Persian) celebrations in Malekshahi, Ilam Province. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that security forces raided the duo’s home in Malekshahi and arrested them without a warrant. Thousands of people attended the Newroz…
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The second branch of the Court of Appeals in Van, south-eastern Turkey, has upheld the six-year, three-month prison sentence handed down to Kurdish environmental activist and former political prisoner Mahyar Ahmadi from Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province. Ahmadi, who was arrested on 12 September 2023 by Turkish border guards at the border between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Turkey, was sentenced by a Turkish court in…
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Sakineh Parvaneh, a Kurdish political prisoner serving a sentence of seven years and six months in Mashhad Prison, was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison in Tehran on 3 April for unspecified reasons. She had previously requested to be transferred to Quchan Prison in Razavi Khorasan Province because her family lives in the city. Parvaneh was arrested by the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic…
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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 March to 31 March. The restrictive environment for independent human rights…
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Omid Ghadimi, the brother of Foad Ghadimi, a protester killed during the Women, Life, Freedom uprising in Divandarreh, Kurdistan Province, has been sentenced to a total of 40 months in prison and a fine of 85 million rials – nearly 150 USD. The Islamic Revolutionary Court in Divandarreh charged Ghadimi with “membership of the Komala [Party of Iranian Kurdistan]”, “propaganda activities against the state”, and…
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Nayeb Askari, a Kurdish political prisoner facing the death penalty, has been returned to the general ward of Orumiyeh Central Prison after one day in solitary confinement, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Askari was placed in solitary confinement on 27 March after a verbal altercation with prison officers. The move was ordered by the prison director as a form of punishment. However,…
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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.