Kurdish political prisoner Sakineh Parvaneh has been on a hunger strike at Qarchak prison since Monday, May 25, in protest to his five-year prison sentence and authorities’ failure to comply with the principle of separation of crimes. She has been transferred from the quarantine to Ward 3, where drug and financial prisoners are being held, for the past several weeks. On May 25, Peyman Darfshan, the…
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The one-year prison sentence of Women’s rights activist Farzaneh Jalali has been upheld by the Provincial Court of Appeal. The sentence was issued by the Branch two of the Kermanshah Islamic Revolutionary Court in November of last year on charges of “propaganda against the state”. “My sentence was upheld by Branch 18 of the Kermanshah Court of Appeal, presided over by Judges Qalkhani and Hassanzadeh,…
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New charges may be brought against the two Kurdish labour activists Mahmoud Salehi and Osman Ismaili following an indictment filed by the Saqqez Intelligence Office, Kurdistan province. “I was summoned to the Branch 5 of the Saqqez Prosecutor’s Office on May 4, by receiving a text message. I referred to this branch after receiving the message. After studying the case, the judge told me that…
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Political prisoner Zeynab Jalalian was taken to the Qarchak Prison of Varamin on Saturday, May 2, 2020. She was abruptly transferred out of the Prison of Khoy on Monday, April 27, without anyone knowing where she was taken to. However, in response to the enquiries made by the family of this political prisoner, Khoy prison officials announced the possibility of opening a new case against…
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On the eve of International Workers’ Day, Sanandaj Intelligence Office and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) telephone summoned a number of Kurdish labour activists in addition to threatening them not to attend any non-governmental event on this day. “For several days now, as in previous years, security agencies have made threatening calls to at least 10 labour activists.” A labour activist in Sanandaj told…
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Zeynab Jalalian, a political prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment who is held at Khoy prison, was transferred to an unknown location by security forces on April 28. She suffers from conjunctive intestinal infections and internal bleeding.. She suffers from conjunctive intestinal infections and internal bleeding. “This morning, a team of security forces took Zeynab Jalalian to Khoy prison without giving any specific reason.”, an informed source told the…
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According to an informed source in Tehran, a female political prisoner named “Sakineh Parvaneh” has been transferred from Qarchak Prison in Varamin to Aminabad Psychiatric Hospital in Rey. The Kurdish civilian from Khorasan was previously held in Evin Prison, but she was transferred to Qarchak Prison in late March.”30-year-old Sakineh Parvaneh surrendered to Iranian forces on the border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan about…
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Zeynab Ismaili, a member of the “Kurdish Peace Mothers”, was released from the Sanandaj Correctional Centre on bail on March 26, a source told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). She was arrested on February 27 by security forces at her home in Dehgolan and taken to the Ministry of Intelligence Detention Centre in Sanandaj. This member of the Kurdish Peace Mothers…
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Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Kurdish writer “Mojgan Kavoosi” has been sentenced to 76 months and a half in prison by the Court of Appeal while she was initially sentenced to 69 months in prison by Noushahr Revolutionary Court. Kavoosi had posted a post on her Instagram account on March 06 which stated the following:”The court rejected the contest statements of…
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In 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
According to KHRN’s findings, Iran executed at least four prisoner in March for “premeditated murder”.
Two of the prisoners were executed in Mahabad Prison, in West Azerbaijan Province, and two in Ilam Central Prison.
*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
In the first half of March, three women were killed by their male family members in Orumiyeh and Kermanshah.
Landmine explosions
In March, landmine explosions resulted in injuries to four people, including two kolbars, in Mehran in Ilam Province, Paveh in Kermanshah Province, and Marivan in Kurdistan Province.
Kolbars and tradesmen
In March, at least five kolbars were shot dead by Iranian border guards, two died of frostbite, two died as a result of falling from the border heights, one was tortured to death by Iranian security forces, one died of a heart attack, one died in a road accident and another died as a result of the overturning of a car chased by police.
A total of 60 kolbars were injured during this period. Of these, 38 were shot by Iranian border guards, nine fell from heights at the border, four were injured in landmine explosions, three were beaten by border guards, two were beaten by Iraqi border guards, two were injured in road accidents, one was injured by stones thrown by border guards, and one was injured in a car that fell from heights at the border.
The identities of three of the kolbars injured in falls from border heights remain unknown and are therefore not included in the table in this report.
Detentions and arrests
Throughout March, Iranian forces arrested at least 20 civilians, including a child and two artists.
At least four of the detained civilians were sent to prisons in Marivan, Saqqez, Naqadeh, and Ilam to serve prison sentences.
Sentences
In the past month, Iranian courts have sentenced at least four people to punishments ranging from three months to 13 years in prison.
Security forces wound two young men
On 21 March, security forces attacked a group of young people in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, for playing music and having fun. As a result of the forces’ shooting, two Kurdish youths, Mohammad Ahmadian and Arman Basiri, were seriously injured in the leg.
The incident took place in the Eastern Park near the historical site of Tagh-e Bostan.