Labour activist Yashar Darulshafa, who had been sentenced to five and a half years in prison in 2010, was detained by the security forces and taken to an unknown location on 21 November, a source the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). “About 20 security forces members raided on the house of a friend of Yashar Darulshafa and broke the door to arrest him. Darulshafa was…
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Labour activist Tawfiq Mahmoudi was summoned to Sanandaj Criminal Court Branch 4 to serve his one-year sentence recently, a source told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). The Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj sentenced Mahmoudi to one year in prison on 11 May which has recently been upheld by the Kurdistan Regional Court of Appeal. Mahmoudi was arrested at his workplace in Sanandaj on 9 March last year and was…
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Three Kurdish activists who had been detained during Bukan protest rally against the Turkish army’s invasion of northern and eastern Syria on 15 Octoberwere released on bail in recent days, a source Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) Activists Jaka Ismailpour, Simko Maroufi and Homan Faizi were released on bail, and another Kurdish activist, Shaho Khezri, who was arrested along with the other three activists, is…
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A Kurdish Yarsan student was barred from completing his dissertation by Razi University of Kermanshah for mentioning his religion as Yarsan (also known as Ahle Haqq) at a questionnaire as part of his dissertation requirements for a survey, a source told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network. 61-year-old student Siavash Hayati is spokesperson for the Advisory Forum of Yarsan Civil Activists. He started his postgraduate degree in Political Sciences at Razi University of Kermanshah…
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A Kurdish activist from Javanrood was taken to Dieselabad Prison in Kermanshah on October 20 to endure his four years sentence, and a labour activist was arrested and taken to “an unknown location,” a source told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). Kurdish activist Yaser Nouri was arrested on June 22 2015 and interrogated for about three months at the Ministry of Intelligence Detention…
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Kurdish Human Rights Network has been informed that a Kurdish labour activist has been arrested on Monday Oct 14, 2019. Faramarz Shariati from Sanandaj was arrested at his workplace by security forces on Monday Oct 14, 2019. At the time this report was published, despite frequent follow-up of Shariati’s family and their visits to the security and judicial authorities, no precise information has been provided as…
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Labour activist Kamran Sakhtemangar was transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison to serve his prison term on October 3, a source told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). Earlier on Aug 29, 2019, the Sanandaj Intelligence agents went to Sakhtemangar’s home to arrest, however, he was not home at that time. The security forces seized some of his family’s personal belongings, including cell phones and…
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An Iranian Kurdish refugee was killed by her Kurdish husband on “the pretext of defending his honor,” a source told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). According to the source, the family has been seeking asylum in Turkey for about a year. The woman, who was stabbed with a knife multiple times in a southern Istanbul city, was a 26-years-old woman and her husband is 36. The…
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A workers’ rights activist was taken to Sanandaj Central Prison on September 23 to serve his prison sentence, a source told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). The prosecutor of Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj sentenced activist Khalil Karimi to one year in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state” in November last year. He was charged for having participated in May…
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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 October to 31 October.
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 based on a review of news and reports provided by the KHRN and a review of reports from other human rights organisations and news agencies.
Executions
According to KHRN’s findings, Iran executed at least nine prisoners on drug-related charges in the prisons of Hamadan, Rasht, Khorramabad, Karaj and Khoy during the month of October.
These are the executions the KHRN has been informed of by its sources. However, the number of those executed is likely to be higher.
Civilian killings
On 28 October, Iranian state news agencies reported that a 16-year-old girl, Armita Geravand, had died after spending 28 days in a coma in the intensive care unit of Tehran’s Fajr Hospital.
Geravand was transferred to a military hospital on 1 October, and numerous news reports stated that she had been physically assaulted by government agents on the Shohada line of the Tehran metro because of her hijab.
According to various reports, Geravand had “no vital signs” from the moment she was admitted to the hospital and remained in a coma throughout her stay.
The British newspaper The Guardian reported on 5 October, citing two eyewitnesses, that Geravand had been subjected to a “physical assault” by a female morality police officer in a metro carriage. According to one witness, the morality police officer ‘violently pushed her’ after an argument.
Additionally, Iranian security forces arrested at least 15 activists and civilians, including Mohammad Geravand, a relative of Armita Geravand, during the teenager’s funeral at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran on 29 October.
Femicide
At least four women have been killed by their male family members in Sardasht, Piranshahr, Bukan and Orumiyeh in the past month.
Kolbars and tradesmen
In October, at least three kolbars were shot dead and 13 others injured by Iranian border guards in the western border areas of the country.
Landmine explosions
On 17 October, Peshawa Aliyar, a civilian from Baneh, was killed by a landmine explosion in Sulaimaniya, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Work-related accidents
On 20 October, Martin Hossein-Panahi, a 16-year-old child labourer, was killed in a factory accident in Sanandaj.
Detentions and arrests
Throughout October, Iranian forces arrested at least 29 activists and civilians, at least two of whom were imprisoned.
Prison sentences
Last month, Iranian courts sentenced at least 11 people to prison terms ranging from four months to 10 years.
Also, civilian Gholamreza Rasaei and Kurdish political prisoner Nayeb Askari were sentenced to death.
Askari, who was previously sentenced to death in absentia by the Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province, on charges of “armed insurrection” through membership of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), was sentenced to death again following a retrial request and several in-person court sessions at the same branch.