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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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 more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
The University of Tabriz in northwestern Iran has expelled Kurdish doctoral student Soran Daneshvar at the request of the Ministry of Intelligence. Daneshvar is a Kurdish activist who began his PhD studies in Philosophy in late September. In mid-November, with the new Ministry of Science, Research and Technology taking office and the appointment of the new rector of the University of Tabriz, the PhD student was…
Read more
On the occasion of 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has prepared a detailed report on cases of genocide, honour killings, female suicides, as well as the arrests and imprisonments of Kurdish women activists in Iran from the beginning of the Iranian year 1400 (21 March 2021) to 25 November. Since 21 March, 61…
Read more
Kurdish woman political prisoner Sakineh Parvaneh has gone on a hunger strike on 22 May, protesting against her denial of access to medical services and her continued exile in Mashhad Central Prison. Separately, Mozhgan Kavousi, another Kurdish woman political prisoner, has been on a hunger strike in Evin Prison of Tehran since 16 May, in protest of the discretionary treatments towards prisoners by prison authorities…
Read more
Kurdish woman political prisoner Zeynab Jalalian, who is sentenced to life imprisonment and is serving her 14th year in prison in Yazd, is in critical condition due to being denied access to medical treatment. A source close to Jalalian spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) about her latest situation and said: “After contracting Covid-19, Zeynab was in a bad physical condition and suffered…
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 November to 30 November.
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
According to KHRN’s findings, Iran executed at least 15 prisoners in November.
While 12 of the men were executed on drug-related charges, two were executed for “premeditated murder” and one for “rape”.
Of the 15 cases, seven were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Alborz Province.
*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
During the past month, one woman was killed by her husband with a blow to the head and another was stabbed to death by her husband. Both cases took place in Ilam, Ilam Province, over alleged “family disputes”.
Kolbars and tradesmen
In November, one kolbar died after suffering a cardiac arrest while working in the border areas of Nowsud, Kermanshah Province; three other kolbars were shot and wounded by Iranian border guards in Nowsud and Sardasht, West Azerbaijan Province; and one suffered an ankle injury as a result of a landmine explosion in Nowsud.
Landmine explosions
On 14 November, a civilian, Ahmad Ali Mohammadi, was killed in a landmine explosion in Ilam, Ilam Province.
Detentions and arrests
Over the past month, Iranian forces have arrested at least 21 people, including activists and children.
At least seven of the detained civilians were sent to Mahabad, Tehran, Sanandaj, Marivan and Oshnavieh prisons to serve their sentences.
Sentences
In November, Iranian courts sentenced at least 12 people to punishments ranging from three months in prison to the death penalty.
Verisheh Moradi (Wirishe Moradi), a Kurdish political prisoner and a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women Society (KJAR), was among those sentenced to death. Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran convicted her on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi).