Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province, has sentenced five Kurdish men – Ali (Soran) Ghassemi, Pezhman Soltani, Kaveh Salehi, Rizgar Beygzadeh Baba-Miri, and Teyfour Salimi Baba-Miri – to a total of 11 death penalties, lengthy prison sentences, and financial penalties for their involvement in the anti-government Women, Life, Freedom protests in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province. Eight other defendants have…
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The Special Clerical Court in Hamadan has sentenced Kurdish Sunni cleric Barzan Maleki to one year in prison and permanently stripped him of his clerical status on charges of “propaganda against the state”. Maleki, who is an imam and religious instructor at the Sheikheyn Grand Mosque in Sanandaj in the Kurdistan Province, was informed of the sentence by telephone on 28 June. The final hearing…
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Kurdish labour rights activist Amjad Geryakhiz has been sentenced to six months in prison and handed a two-year suspended sentence by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the court convicted Geryakhiz on charges including “propaganda against the state”, and formally notified him of the verdict on 7 June. Geryakhiz, from Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, was arrested…
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Branch 101 of the Second Criminal Court in Oshnavieh, West Azerbaijan Province, has sentenced Kurdish civilian Hedi Shadi-Khah to 22 months in prison. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the court convicted Shadi-Khah on charges of “acting against national security” through his alleged collaboration with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). The verdict was issued and formally communicated to him in recent…
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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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Mina Soltani, the mother of Shahriar Mohammadi, a protester killed during the anti-government Women, Life, Freedom uprising in 2022 in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, has been sentenced to eight months in prison and fined 10 million rials. Branch 101 of the Second Criminal Court of Bukan sentenced Soltani on charges of “propaganda against the state” and “presence of women in public spaces and in plain…
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An Iranian court has sentenced Pezhman Soltani, a protester arrested during the anti-government Women, Life, Freedom uprising, to death on charges of “premeditated murder”. Two others, Rizgar Beygzadeh Baba-Miri, 47, and Ali (Soran) Ghassemi, 28, were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years and one day in prison, respectively, for “instigating murder” and “aiding and abetting murder”. Additionally, a fourth defendant, Kaveh Salehi, 42, was acquitted…
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The Preliminary Board for Administrative Violations of Employees in Kurdistan Province has sentenced four members of the Kurdistan Teachers’ Trade Association to permanent dismissal, expulsion and exile, while another activist’s expulsion sentence was reduced on appeal. Omid Shah-Mohammadi was sentenced to permanent dismissal from all government jobs, Hiva Ghoreishi and Kaveh Mohammadzadeh were dismissed from their posts, and Parviz Ehsani was sentenced to five years’…
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The Kurdistan Province Court of Appeal has reduced the prison sentence of Srwa Pour-Mohammadi, a Kurdish language teacher and board member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, from 10 years to five years. The decision was delivered to Pour-Mohammadi’s lawyers on 25 November. In November 2023, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, presided over by Judge Karami, sentenced her to 10 years of imprisonment…
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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 June to 30 June.
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 11 prisoners in June, eight being on drug-related charges and three on charges of “collaboration and espionage for Israeil”.
Seven of these executions took place in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Alborz Province, and four in Orumiyeh Central Prison.
Kurdish prisoners Edris Ali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, who were executed on charges of “collaboration and espionage for Israeil”, were executed in secret, without being allowed final visits with their families.
Despite the fact that the Supreme Court had not yet formally communicated their death sentences to their lawyers, these three prisoners were executed in haste.
Contrary to the claims of the judiciary, the three prisoners, who worked as kolbars and tradesmen in border regions, denied all accusations of collaborating with Israel throughout their interrogations and court proceedings.
*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.
Civilian killings
On 26 June, Iranian police fatally shot Azad Ranaei, a 34-year-old Kurdish civilian from Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province.
Officers stopped his motorbike on Dr Hosseini Boulevard in Sanandaj and proceeded to search him. An argument broke out during the stop, after which one of the officers opened fire, killing Ranaei.
Femicide
In June, at least one Kurdish woman, Mahboubeh Delavari, was reported to have been a victim of femicide. The 42-year-old was killed by her husband, who hit her on the head with a flower pot.
Kolbars
Last month, at least one kolbar was shot dead and one other was wounded by Iranian border guards in the border areas of Baneh, Kurdistan Province.
Detentions and arrests
In June, Iranian forces arrested at least 45 people, including three former political prisoners, two activists and two dadkhah family members (a Persian term used for victims’ relatives and survivors seeking truth and justice).
It is also important to note that, since the recent Israeli attack, security forces in Iran have launched a renewed wave of repression in Kurdish regions, with dozens of civilians and activists arrested across several cities in Kurdistan.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Basij paramilitary forces, and special police units have set up checkpoints at the entrances to and exits from cities and are patrolling major roads, creating an atmosphere of fear.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC’s intelligence branch have summoned and threatened some Kurdish civilians and activists.
Sentences
During this period, Iranian courts sentenced at least four people to prison sentences ranging from two to 22 months.
Three of these sentences were handed down on charges related to alleged anti-state propaganda activities.