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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Kurdish civil rights activist Ali Allah-Veysi has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province. Allah-Veysi, a member of
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Kurdish civil rights activist Ali Allah-Veysi has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province. Allah-Veysi, a member of
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 citizens 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 2026.
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.
Detentions and arrests
In April, at least 12 individuals were arrested across West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Ilam provinces. Those arrested included two language teachers, while in 10 cases their specific activities remain unknown.
Of the total number of arrests, 10 were made in West Azerbaijan Province, one in Kurdistan Province, and one in Ilam Province.
Sentences
In April, Mohsen Eslamkhah, a 20-year-old Kurdish citizen who was arrested in connection with the “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising in Bukan, was sentenced to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad.
Additionally, Branch 39 of the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Nasser Bakerzadeh, a 26-year-old Kurdish prisoner in Orumiyeh Central Prison; he was subsequently executed on 2 May.
Three PDKI members killed in IRGC attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan
On 17 April, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) killed at least three members of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in drone and missile strikes on civilian camps and party installations in Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The attacks took place despite a two-week ceasefire having been announced between the United States, Israel, and Iran, at the time, and killed Neda Miri from Sanandaj, Samira Allah-Yari from Divandarreh, and Shahin Azarbarzin from Piranshahr.