Kurdistan Human Rights Network

The Special Clerical Court in Hamadan in western Iran sentenced Sunni Kurdish cleric Seyyed Jalal Akbari to two years suspended imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the state” on 10 May. Akbari, the imam of a mosque in the village of Degagah in Sarvabad, Kurdistan province, was tried on 10 May and was informed of the court’s decision on the same day. Since late March, the…

Kurdish civil rights activist Moslem Saeidpour has been sentenced to one year in prison by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, on charges of “propaganda against the state”. The sentence, which is suspended for one year, was handed down to the activist on 30 April. Last year, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Sanandaj summoned Saeidpour for organising Newroz (also…

Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, has sentenced Kurdish civilians Haasel Ghadou, Jamal Alizadeh and Abdolrahman Mohammadi-Arshad to prison terms ranging from eight to 43 months. The court charged the civilians with “gathering and conspiring to commit crimes against national security”, “propaganda against the state”, and “collaborating with dissident media”. Ghadou and Mohammadi-Arshad were tried on 16 February and have…

The Special Clerical Court in Hamadan in western Iran has sentenced Kurdish Sunni cleric Arman Sadeghi to seven and a half months in prison, 74 lashes and the revocation of his clerical status for his support of the recent anti-government protests. The court charged Sadeghi with “disturbing public opinion” and “propaganda against the state”, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. The Sunni Kurdish cleric…

Iran’s Special Clerical Court in Hamadan sentenced Kurdish Sunni cleric Saber Khoda-Moradi to seven months in prison and 74 lashes in the past few days, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. The sentence, communicated to the cleric by telephone, was suspended for three years. There is no detailed information available about the charges brought against the religious teacher who was summoned to the Special…

Branch 101 of the Second Criminal Court in Bukan, West Azerbaijan province, recently sentenced civilian Ali Gol-Mohammadi to 22 months in prison. The court charged the civilian with “acting against national security” on the grounds that he was a member of a Kurdish opposition party. On 15 January, security forces arrested Gol-Mohammadi in Bukan without a court order. After initial interrogations, he was transferred to the city…

Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh has sentenced Kurdish political prisoner Nayeb Askari again to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) through “membership” in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK). In 2018, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh sentenced him to death on the same charge in absentia. The sentence was overturned after his appeal against the ruling and was referred…

Iran has sentenced a Kurdish Sunni cleric to a suspended prison term and arrested two other clerics over the past few days. The Special Clerical Court of Hamadan, in western Iran, summoned and tried Hossein Ali-Moradi, the director of the Ebrahim Khalilollah School of Religious Studies in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, on 3 April. The court sentenced Ali-Moradi to two years of suspended imprisonment on charges of…

Branch 102 of the Criminal Court in Iran’s Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province, sentenced prisoner Hadi Rostami to eight months in prison and 45 lashes for “disturbing the prison order” in the past few days, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. The case was filed following a complaint by Farhad Hajebi Miandoabi, head of the inspection office at Orumiyeh Central Prison. Similarly, in 2020, Rostami…