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…
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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…
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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…
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Civil rights activist Shilan Kurdistani has been sentenced in recent days to a total of 40 months of suspended imprisonment in Iran. Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, sentenced her to 40 months in prison as follows: two years and nine months for “membership of an illegal group” for her membership of the Zhivano Women’s Association, and seven months in…
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The Branch Three of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh has sentenced civilians Nasim Namazi, Vafa Hanareh, Aram Omari Berdiani, Rahman Parhazou and Mansour Rasouli to death on charges of “participation in intelligence cooperation and espionage for Israel” over the past few weeks. The court also sentenced five other civilians, Kamran Hanareh, Fakhroddin Doudkanlou Milan, Ashkan Osmannezhad Ganduk, Hassan Omarpour, and Amir Moshtagh Gangachin, to…
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The Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Ilam, in north-west Iran, has sentenced Kurdish teacher Ahmad Alizadeh to a total of six years, seven months and 17 days in prison and other additional penalties. The court charged Alizadeh with “forming a group of more than two individuals with the intention of disrupting national security” and “propaganda against the state”, Kurdistan Human Rights Network…
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The Branch Nine of Iran’s Supreme Court has acquitted Kurdish political prisoner Towhid Darvish of “enmity against God”, overturning the ruling of the lower court and referring the case back to the court for investigation. In early January, the Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province, sentenced Darvish to 10 years of imprisonment in exile in Ahvaz prison and payment…
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The Branch Nine of Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned Kurdish political prisoner Hatem Ozdemir’s death sentence in the past few days, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. The court referred the case to the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province, for re-investigation. Ozdemir, who holds Turkish citizenship, was previously sentenced to death by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Khoy,…
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The Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Varamin, Tehran province, in northern Iran, has sentenced Kurdish artist Khabat Fadaei to a total of six years in prison. The court charged Fadaei with “propaganda against the state” and “membership in a group and society with the aim of disrupting the security of the country”. If the sentence is upheld at the appeal stage, five years…
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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 October to 31 October.
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 based on a review of news and reports provided by the KHRN and a review of reports from other human rights organisations and news agencies.
Executions
According to KHRN’s findings, Iran executed at least nine prisoners on drug-related charges in the prisons of Hamadan, Rasht, Khorramabad, Karaj and Khoy during the month of October.
These are the executions the KHRN has been informed of by its sources. However, the number of those executed is likely to be higher.
Civilian killings
On 28 October, Iranian state news agencies reported that a 16-year-old girl, Armita Geravand, had died after spending 28 days in a coma in the intensive care unit of Tehran’s Fajr Hospital.
Geravand was transferred to a military hospital on 1 October, and numerous news reports stated that she had been physically assaulted by government agents on the Shohada line of the Tehran metro because of her hijab.
According to various reports, Geravand had “no vital signs” from the moment she was admitted to the hospital and remained in a coma throughout her stay.
The British newspaper The Guardian reported on 5 October, citing two eyewitnesses, that Geravand had been subjected to a “physical assault” by a female morality police officer in a metro carriage. According to one witness, the morality police officer ‘violently pushed her’ after an argument.
Additionally, Iranian security forces arrested at least 15 activists and civilians, including Mohammad Geravand, a relative of Armita Geravand, during the teenager’s funeral at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran on 29 October.
Femicide
At least four women have been killed by their male family members in Sardasht, Piranshahr, Bukan and Orumiyeh in the past month.
Kolbars and tradesmen
In October, at least three kolbars were shot dead and 13 others injured by Iranian border guards in the western border areas of the country.
Landmine explosions
On 17 October, Peshawa Aliyar, a civilian from Baneh, was killed by a landmine explosion in Sulaimaniya, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Work-related accidents
On 20 October, Martin Hossein-Panahi, a 16-year-old child labourer, was killed in a factory accident in Sanandaj.
Detentions and arrests
Throughout October, Iranian forces arrested at least 29 activists and civilians, at least two of whom were imprisoned.
Prison sentences
Last month, Iranian courts sentenced at least 11 people to prison terms ranging from four months to 10 years.
Also, civilian Gholamreza Rasaei and Kurdish political prisoner Nayeb Askari were sentenced to death.
Askari, who was previously sentenced to death in absentia by the Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province, on charges of “armed insurrection” through membership of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), was sentenced to death again following a retrial request and several in-person court sessions at the same branch.