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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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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Kurdish political prisoner Kamran Ghassemi temporarily ended his hunger strike on 14 March after officials at Orumiyeh Central Prison in West Azerbaijan Province agreed to consider his demands. Ghassemi began the strike on 5 March in protest at the refusal of prison officials and the Ministry of Intelligence to grant him leave and conditional release. After announcing his hunger strike, Ghassemi was placed in solitary confinement…
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Kurdish political prisoner Kamal Sharifi is now in his 16th year of a 30-year sentence in Minab Prison in Hormozgan Province. Despite battling various health problems acquired during his imprisonment, Sharifi has been consistently denied temporary leave and conditional release. Throughout his lengthy imprisonment, Sharifi has only been allowed one family visit. His health has been a major concern, and he has suffered two major health crises…
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Kurdish political prisoner Kamran Ghassemi has entered the eighth day of his hunger strike in solitary confinement in Orumiyeh Central Prison, West Azerbaijan Province, in protest at the refusal of prison officials and the Ministry of Intelligence to grant him leave and conditional release. Ghassemi was transferred to solitary confinement after announcing his hunger strike on 5 March and has since been denied the right…
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Arsalan Khodkam, a Kurdish political prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment, was temporarily released today after spending nearly six years behind bars in Orumiyeh Central Prison in West Azerbaijan Province. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Khodkam has been struggling with sight problems in recent months as a result of being denied access to specialist medical services. Prison authorities informed him in October 2023…
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Prisoner Mansour Mansouri, previously sentenced to death for murder, was executed in Ilam Central Prison on 11 March. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) had reported the execution of another prisoner, Moein Salavarzizadeh, in Ilam Central Prison on the same day. A source who spoke to KHRN said: “Mansour Mansouri, 44 years old, unmarried and from the city of Sarableh in Ilam Province, was arrested about…
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Moein Salavarzizadeh, a 58-year-old man from the village of Haft Cheshmeh in Abdanan, Ilam Province, was executed today in Ilam Central Prison after spending 32 years behind bars for “premeditated murder”. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Salavarzizadeh was arrested in 1991 for the “premeditated murder” of his brother and subsequently sentenced to death by the Criminal Court One of Ilam Province,…
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Prisoners Fakhraddin Mangournezhad and Abbas Dadvar were executed on 7 March in Mahabad Prison, West Azerbaijan Province, on charges of “premeditated murder”. Mangournezhad, from Oshnavieh, West Azerbaijan Province, and Dadvar, from Mahabad, were arrested about four years ago for the “premeditated murder” of two brothers in Sardasht, West Azerbaijan Province.
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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.