The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, 17 May, serves as a reminder of the history of oppression and violence faced by queer individuals in many societies and countries, where their gender identity and sexual orientation have been pathologised and criminalised. It also commemorates the struggle and resistance of queer people to destigmatise and decriminalise their identities and orientations, fighting for equal rights. In…
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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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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…
Read moreIn 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 March to 31 March.
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 a prisoner, Arshad Farzadband, on charges of “premeditated murder” in Orumiyeh Central Prison in March.
*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.
Kolbars
In the second half of March, at least one man was killed by Iranian border forces and another died in a road accident while working as a kolbar in the border areas of Baneh and Salas-e Babajani.
Civilian killings
In March, a civilian, Mohammad Hosseinzadeh, was killed by Iranian police in Orumiyeh.
Deaths in prisons and detention facilities
During this period, Kamran Kazemi, a 38-year-old Kurdish man from Kermanshah, died in suspicious circumstances in the Criminal Investigation Department detention centre in Orumiyeh.
While police officials have attributed his death to suicide, fellow detainees claim that he was tortured to death by officers.
Detentions and arrests
In March, Iranian forces arrested at least 59 people, at least two of whom were sent to prison to serve their sentences.
Sentences
During this period, Iranian courts sentenced at least two political prisoners, Hatem Ozdemir and Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou, to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “armed insurrection” (baghi), respectively.