Prisoners Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Shahivand, and Mehdi Sharafian, all sentenced to amputation, have been given one month to obtain the consent of the plaintiff in their case, or their sentences will be executed. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the prisoners were summoned to the Enforcement of Judgements Office of Orumiyeh Central Prison on 13 March 2025, where they were officially informed…
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The Supreme Court has accepted a request for a retrial in the case of Kurdish political prisoner Parham Parvari, overturning his previous conviction and referring the case to an equivalent court for re-examination. His lawyer, Mazyar Tataei, announced the decision on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account, saying: “The third retrial request submitted for my client, Mr. Parham Parvari, has been accepted by the Supreme…
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Iran has executed five prisoners in recent days, including one in public, on charges of “premeditated murder” and “drug trafficking”. On 28 February, Shoayb Rezapour, a 30-year-old civilian from the village of Sost in Esfarayen, North Khorasan Province, was executed in public in the city, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Rezapour had been sentenced to death for “premeditated murder” after being convicted of…
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Behrouz Safari Ghaleh-Zanjiri, a prisoner from the village of Ghaleh-Zanjir in Dalahu, Kermanshah Province, was executed in Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, at dawn on 26 February. Safari Ghaleh-Zanjiri, 34, was arrested about four years ago and sentenced to death after being found guilty of “premeditated murder”, a crime punishable by qisas, which gives the victim’s family the right to retaliate under Islamic…
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Zeynab Jalalian, Iran’s longest-serving and only female political prisoner serving a life sentence, marks 17 years behind bars. Born in 1982 in the village of Dim Qeshlaq in Maku, West Azerbaijan Province, Jalalian has been imprisoned since 26 February 2008. Jalalian is the only woman in the country serving a life sentence for political reasons. Over the years, she has been denied both the right to…
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Naeim Abdi, a prisoner sentenced to death on charges of “premeditated murder”, was executed on 23 February in Qorveh Prison in Kurdistan Province. Abdi, a 22-year-old Azerbaijani-Turkic prisoner from Qorveh, was arrested in 2012 and subsequently sentenced to death.
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Kurdish political prisoner Kianoush Cheraghi has sewn his lips shut in Ilam Central Prison on the fifth day of a dry hunger strike, protesting the revocation of his electronic ankle tag and the physical assault he suffered during his transfer to prison, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Cheraghi, from Dehloran, Ilam Province, was released on electronic monitoring while serving a two-year sentence…
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Iranian authorities today executed Shahin Mahdavi-Kia, a 29-year-old prisoner from Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, on charges of rape, in Mahabad Prison. Mahdavi-Kia was transferred to solitary confinement on 19 February in preparation for the execution. He had been arrested about two years ago and subsequently sentenced to death on charges of rape.
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The case of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a 26-year-old Kurdish political prisoner sentenced to death, has been referred to Branch Nine of the Supreme Court following an appeal against his conviction. Abdollahzadeh was sentenced to death by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province, presided over by Judge Najafzadeh, on charges of “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fil-arz) and “involvement in the…
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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
Iran executed at least seven prisoners in April, four being on drug-related charges, two on charges of “premeditated murder”, and one political prisoner on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi), according to KHRN’s findings.
On 21 April, the family of Kurdish political prisoner Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou was summoned to the Orumiyeh Prosecutor’s Office and informed that the prisoner had been executed. The Deputy Prosecutor, Behzad Sarkhanlou, informed them that the prisoner had been transferred from Orumiyeh to Tehran and that his death sentence had been carried out.
*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.
Femicide
In April, a Kurdish woman was reported to have been the victim of femicide. On 3 April, Azita Fallahi, a 36-year-old mother of two, was beaten to death by her husband in Sonqor, Kermanshah Province.
Kolbars
Last month, at least one man died of cardiac arrest while working as a kolbar and two others were shot and wounded by Iranian border guards in the Baneh border area.
Detentions and arrests
In April, Iranian forces arrested at least 11 people, two of whom were sent to prison to serve their sentences.
Sentences
During this period, Iranian courts sentenced a religious activist to 22 months in prison and another man to five months in prison and a fine.