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…
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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.