The whereabouts and fate of Varisheh Moradi, a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women Society (KJAR) with the organisational code name of Jwana Sna, who was arrested by security forces in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, almost two months ago, remains unknown. Moradi was beaten and arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence at the entrance to Sanandaj on 1 August, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN)…
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Zaniar (Matin) Tondro, a 17-year-old student who was shot by Iranian forces during the recent anti-government protests in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province, on 27 October 2022, has lost sight of one of his eyes. Hamzeh Tondro, the young man’s father, spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) about his son’s situation and said: “My son was first wounded on 20 September 2022, on the…
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Detained Kurdish writer Mozhgan Kavousi was tried on 20 December over a series of serious charges, one of which may carry a death penalty verdict. The most serious charges against her was “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz), for which a death penalty is a possible verdict under the laws of the the Islamic Republic of Iran. She is a former political prisoner released in January…
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Relatives of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa(Zhina) Amini, who is in a coma after being arrested and beaten by the Iranian morality police, spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) about the continuation of her worrying situation. The relatives said that Amini’s family were shocked by what happened to their daughter and that they were exposed to intense pressure and threats from security…
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The Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province, has sentenced an activist of the LGBTI and queer rights named Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani (Sareh) and another civilian named Elham Choubdar to the death penalty. The court charged them with “spreading corruption on earth” (fasad fil-arz) by allegedly “promoting homosexuality” and “forming corruption and prostitution gangs”. The two prisoners were informed of the sentence in the women’s ward…
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The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has prepared this report on the occasion of 8 March, International Women’s Day, to point to cases of suicide, femicide, arrest, and imprisonment of Kurdish women activists from 8 March 2021 to 8 March 2022 in Iran. Suicides Since last International Women’s Day, at least 78 women and young girls committed suicide in different parts of Iranian Kurdistan and lost…
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In recent days, the news of the suicide of a Kurdish transgender* woman named Hanar in Marivan, in northwestern Iran’s Kurdistan province, circulated on social media. One of the sources that published the news was the Instagram account of the Kurdistan LGBTIQ Community, which has been working for years to defend the rights of the queer** community in the Kurdish language. Hanar, 20, committed suicide…
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Kurdish literary and cultural woman activist Zahra (also Zara) Mohammadi presented herself today at the court of Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, to serve a five-year prison sentence. The court’s Enforcement of Judgements Office arrested the activist and transferred her to the Juvenile Detention Centre in Sanandaj. Mohammadi had been accused of allegedly “forming groups and societies with the aim of disrupting national security” over her activities, which…
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The five-year prison sentence of the Kurdish language teacher Zahra (also Zara) Mohammadi has been upheld. Authorities have asked that she turns herself in to serve her sentence. The ruling came after the Chief Justice of Iran’s northwestern Kurdistan province rejected Mohammadi’s lawyers’ appeal for her retrial under Article 477 of the Iranian Islamic Criminal Code. On 2 January, the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, which is headed…
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The Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s (KHRN) recent investigations have revealed numerous cases of human rights violations against Kurdish civilians and activists from Iran in August 2023.
Our Documentation and Statistics Centre has compiled a comprehensive report on the various violations perpetrated against these individuals, which we present in this monthly report.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s (KHRN) recent investigations have revealed numerous cases of human rights violations against Kurdish civilians and activists from Iran in August 2023.
Our Documentation and Statistics Centre has compiled a comprehensive report on the various violations perpetrated against these individuals, which we present in this monthly report.
Executions
According to these findings, Iran executed at least 13 prisoners over the past month in Sanandaj, Saqqez, Khorramabad, Karaj, Hamadan, and Dezful.
While three prisoners were executed on charges of “premeditated murder”, 10 were executed for drug-related offences.
These are the executions of which the KHRN has been informed by its sources. However, the number of those executed is likely to be higher.
Kolbars and tradesmen
In August, at least four kolbars were killed and 16 were injured in the country’s western border areas.
Of these, 18 were shot by Iranian border guards and one was killed after he was hit by a military vehicle of the border forces.
In addition, one kolbar was injured after being shot by Iraqi border forces in the Choman border of Baneh on 7 August.
Killings of civilians
On 17 August, a Kurdish soldier from Maku, West Azerbaijan Province, was shot dead at a military base in Qasr-e Shirin, Kermanshah Province.
Work accidents
Over the past month, at least six workers lost their lives in work accidents in Qasr-e Shirin, Tabriz, Saqqez, Maku, Javanrud and Ilam.
Detentions and arrests
Throughout August, Iranian forces arrested at least 60 civilians, including activists, journalists, Kurdish Sunni clerics and two children.
Two of these civilians were detained to serve prison sentences in Ilam and Naqadeh.
Prison sentences
Over the past month, Iranian courts sentenced at least 10 people to prison terms ranging from six months to a total of 16 and a half years.
Half of these sentences were handed down by Branch 101 of the Criminal Court of Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province.