Kurdistan Human Rights Network

Prisoners Saeid Najafi and Borzou Cheghazardi, sentenced to death for “premeditated murder”, were executed in Kermanshah Central Prison (also known as Dizel Abad Prison) on 17 May. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the two prisoners were executed without the knowledge of their families. Only after their executions did the prison authorities contact their families to inform them. Najafi, 28, from Sahneh, Kermanshah Province,…

Iran executed death row prisoners Saeid Geravand, Samad Geravand and Shahab Mansouri-Nasab in Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj on 20 May. The three prisoners, who were sentenced to death about four years ago in a joint drug case, were transferred to solitary confinement for execution on 19 May. The night before the executions, the families of the three prisoners staged a sit-in protest outside the prison,…

At least three prisoners sentenced to death on drug-related charges were transferred to solitary confinement in Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj a few hours ago for execution, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. The families of the prisoners Saeid Geravand, Samad Geravand and Shahab Mansouri-Nasab gathered outside the prison, calling for people’s support to stop the executions. The three prisoners were arrested about four…

Kurdish political prisoner Towhid Darvish, acquitted by the Iranian Supreme Court of “enmity against God” (moharebeh), will be retried on 14 May before the second branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province. Darvish, a 27-year-old taxi driver, was arrested in Tabriz on 29 September after he had transported passengers in his car from the city of Khoy to the city of…

Kurdish prisoner of conscience Iraj Sofi-Mohammad has been on hunger strike since yesterday in protest against his transfer from Mahabad open prison to the prison’s internal ward. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Sofi-Mohammad’s transfer was ordered by the Mahabad Public Prosecutor. Security forces arrested Sofi-Mohammad in Mahabad in early autumn of 2019. After initial interrogation, he was transferred from the Ministry of Intelligence…

Imprisoned Kurdish rapper Saman Yasin, who was arrested by Iranian security forces during the anti-government protests in Tehran last September, will be retried on 8 May, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Yasin’s case was referred to Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran after the Supreme Court overturned his death sentence due to “lack of investigation” in the case. “In the…

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…

Prisoner Abdollah Badavi, who suffered from heart problems and diabetes, died of a stroke in Orumiyeh Central Prison on 15 April due to being denied access to medical treatment. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Badavi was denied medical leave and access to medical treatment since 2014 despite the advice of the prison doctors. The prisoner was arrested in June 2014 and was…

Imprisoned Kurdish athlete Parham Parvari, who was arrested during the recent anti-government protests in Tehran, was transferred from the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary to Evin Prison on 9 April. The Security Prosecutor’s Office located in Evin Prison has charged Parvari with “enmity against God” (moharebeh), which carries the death penalty in Iran, for his participation in the protests. The protester’s trial was scheduled for 10 April,…