Annual reports Archives – KHRN

April 24, 2025

Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s Annual Report – 1403

Annual Report of 1403 Following the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the former president and a member of the “Death Committee” responsible for the killings of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, the Islamic Republic of Iran sought to address its domestic legitimacy crisis and continued international decline in influence by approving the candidacy of Masoud Pezeshkian in an attempt to project a new image…

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January 16, 2025

Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s Annual Report – 2024

This report examines instances of human rights violations against Kurdish civilians in Iran during 2024. As in previous years, these violations stem from factors such as language, religion, culture, gender, sexual orientation, social class, and political beliefs. These issues persist under the discriminatory laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, alongside the repressive and violent actions of its security, military, judicial, and executive institutions. The…

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October 10, 2024

Iran executed at least 138 Kurdish prisoners over past year

On 10 October 2024, marking the World Day against the Death Penalty, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has documented the execution of at least 138 Kurdish prisoners in various prisons across Iran over the past year.  These executions, which took place between 10 October 2023 and 9 October 2024, highlight the Islamic Republic of Iran’s alarming use of the death penalty as a tool…

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April 5, 2024

Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s Annual Report

This report addresses the violations of the human rights of Kurdish civilians in Iran during the Iranian year 1402 (21 March 2023 – 19 March 2024). As in previous years, the rights of Kurdish people have continued to be violated due to their language, religions, culture, genders, sexual orientations, and class and political affiliations by the Islamic Republic’s discriminatory laws and repressive and violent…

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January 9, 2024

Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s Annual Report – 2023

This 2023 report details human rights violations of the Kurds in Iran. As in previous years, the violations span across the spectrum of linguistic, religious, cultural, gender, sexual orientation, class, and political discrimination under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The repressive and violent actions were employed by the security, military, judicial and executive institutions of the government. The statistics outline the number…

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April 27, 2023

Annual Report Mar 2022 – Mar 2023

This annual report covers the human rights situation of Kurds in Iran from 21 March 2022 to 21 March 2023. As in previous years, the violation of the rights of Kurdish people on the basis of their language, religion, culture, gender, sexual orientation, class, political choices, etc. continued due to the discriminatory laws of the Islamic Republic and the repressive and violent actions of…

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January 18, 2022

Annual Report 2021

This report addresses the human rights situation in 2021 in relation to the Kurdish people in Iran. As in previous years, the rights of Kurdish people have continued to be violated due to their language, religions, culture, genders, sexual orientations, and class and political affiliations by the Islamic Republic’s discriminatory laws and repressive and violent crackdowns by its security, military, judicial, and executive institutions. The…

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March 1, 2021

Annual report: 52 Kurdish kolbars died, 147 injured in 2020

Paris, 1 March 2021 – The data compiled by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) suggest that in 2020, at least 52 Kurdish civilians, who were left with no other choice but to carry goods on their backs – also known as kolbari – between the border areas of Iran, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and Turkey to earn a living for their families, have…

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April 2, 2020

At least 2,000 Iranian Kurdish civilians and activists were arrested from 21 March 2019 to 21 March 2020

Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN): At least 2,000 Iranian Kurdish civilians and activists were arrested from 21 March 2019 to 21 March 2020, in the provinces of Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, Ilam and Kermanshah. The largest number of mass arrests was related to the November 2019 protests in the cities of Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Marivan, Javanrood, Orumiyeh, Ilam and Bukan, following the sudden rise in gas…

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NEWS

Six Kurdish civilians remain in detention without trial in Mahabad

Kurdish civilians Ghader Kharamanfar, Jalal Sadafi, Salar Shams-Borhan, Ali Maroufi, Rebwar Rasouli and Ayoub Rasouli remain in pre-trial detention in Mahabad Prison nearly six…

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Kurdish political prisoner faces imminent execution as second retrial request rejected

The Supreme Court has rejected the second appeal for a retrial of Hatem Ozdemir, a Kurdish political prisoner with Turkish citizenship, and upheld his…

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Iran executes prisoner for murder-related charges in Karaj

Mehran Nasri-Zar, a prisoner from Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, was executed today in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Alborz Province. In recent days, Nasri-Zar was…

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Death row prisoner moved to solitary ahead of execution in Orumiyeh

Moshir Osmannezhad, a prisoner from Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province, who was sentenced to death for “premeditated murder”, was today transferred to solitary confinement at…

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Ministry of Intelligence arrests, summons dozens over Kurdish dress at wedding

The Ministry of Intelligence in Bukan and Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, has arrested Kurdish civilians Ali Daneshi and Samrand Vojoudi and summoned dozens of…

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Kolbar shot dead by Iran border guards in Marivan

Arman Rayzan, a 31-year-old kolbar from the village of Gugjeh in Marivan, Kurdistan Province, was shot dead by Iranian border forces in the early…

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Kurdish journalist sent to Karaj prison to serve one-year sentence

Azhdar Piri, editor-in-chief of the international monthly Pazhouhesh-e Melal (Nations Research), was sent to Karaj Central Prison on 4 May after being summoned by…

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Kurdish political prisoner on death row refused urgent medical treatment

Kurdish political prisoner Verisheh Moradi (Wirishe Moradi), who is on death row, is being denied access to vital medical care despite suffering from serious…

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Iran executes prisoner for drug-related charges in Karaj

Iran has executed Rouhollah Moradian, a man from Kuhdasht, Lorestan Province, for drug-related offences in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Alborz Province. The Kurdistan…

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Security forces arrest three Kurdish civilians in Oshnavieh, whereabouts unknown

Security forces today arrested Kurdish civilians Omid Ebrahimi, Yasser Sharifian, and Rashid Faghizadeh in Oshnavieh, West Azerbaijan Province, taking them to an undisclosed location….

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Iran issues death certificate weeks after secret execution of Kurdish political prisoner

The Civil Registry Office in Chaldoran, West Azerbaijan Province, has issued the death certificate of Kurdish political prisoner Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou, several weeks after…

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Monthly Report of April 2025

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 April to 30 April.

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 at least seven prisoners in April, four being on drug-related charges, two on charges of “premeditated murder”, and one political prisoner on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi), according to KHRN’s findings.

On 21 April, the family of Kurdish political prisoner Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou was summoned to the Orumiyeh Prosecutor’s Office and informed that the prisoner had been executed. The Deputy Prosecutor, Behzad Sarkhanlou, informed them that the prisoner had been transferred from Orumiyeh to Tehran and that his death sentence had been carried out.

*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 April, a Kurdish woman was reported to have been the victim of femicide. On 3 April, Azita Fallahi, a 36-year-old mother of two, was beaten to death by her husband in Sonqor, Kermanshah Province.

Kolbars

Last month, at least one man died of cardiac arrest while working as a kolbar and two others were shot and wounded by Iranian border guards in the Baneh border area.

Detentions and arrests

In April, Iranian forces arrested at least 11 people, two of whom were sent to prison to serve their sentences.

Sentences

During this period, Iranian courts sentenced a religious activist to 22 months in prison and another man to five months in prison and a fine.

  • Executions
  • Femicide
  • Kolbar Deaths
  • Kolbar injuries
  • Detentions and arrests
  • Sentences
NameFromCharged withDate of ExecutionLocation of Execution
1Seyyed Taha HassaniBukan, West Azerbaijan ProvincePremeditated murder7 AprBukan Prison
2Kambiz FathiKermanshah, Kermanshah ProvincePremeditated murder9 AprKermanshah Prison
3Yadegar RahimnezhadBaneh, Kurdistan ProvinceDrug trafficking15 AprKerman Central Prison
4Peyman NaderiKermanshah, Kermanshah ProvinceDrug trafficking15 AprBandar Abbas Central Prison
5Karim EsmaeiliEslamabad-e Gharb, Kermanshah ProvinceDrug trafficking15 AprBandar Abbas Central Prison
6Ali Faza DoustianiKermanshah, Kermanshah ProvinceDrug trafficking15 AprKaraj Central Penitentiary
7Hamid Hosseinnezhad HeidaranlouChaldoran, West Azerbaijan ProvinceArmed insurrection (baghi)April 2025Orumiyeh Central Prison
NameDate of IncidentLocation of IncidentExplanation
1Azita Fallahi3 AprSonqor, Kermanshah Province36 years old mother of two, murderer: husband, method of murder: beating, reason: unknown
NameFromKilled/DeathDate of IncidentLocation of IncidentExplanation
1Omar MoradiJavanrud, Kermanshah ProvinceDied17 AprNowsud, Kermanshah ProvinceCardiac arrest
NameFromType of InjuryDate of IncidentLocation of IncidentExplanation
1Ako SharifiBaneh, Kurdistan ProvinceWounded27 AprBaneh, Kurdistan ProvinceShot by border guards
2Shwana AlipourBaneh, Kurdistan ProvinceWounded27 AprBaneh, Kurdistan ProvinceShot by border guards
NameFromActivityDate of ArrestLocation of ArrestLocation held and latest status
1Farzad AbdiDehloran, Ilam ProvinceCivilian1 AprDehloran, Ilam Province.
2Reza BourkehPiranshahr, West Azerbaijan ProvinceFormer political prisoner8 AprPiranshahr, West Azerbaijan ProvinceImprisoned to serve 10 months in Naqadeh prison
3Nariman RendaniSaqqez, Kurdistan ProvinceCivil rights activist8 AprSaqqez, Kurdistan Province.
4Awat BabakhaniDivandarreh, Kurdistan ProvinceCivilian14 AprDivandarreh, Kurdistan Province.
5Srwa Pour-MohammadiSanandaj, Kurdistan ProvinceCultural activist, Kurdish language teacher18 AprSanandaj, Kurdistan ProvinceImprisoned to serve 5 years in Sanandaj prison
6Zaher MahmoudianOshnavieh, West Azerbaijan ProvinceCivilian19 AprOshnavieh, West Azerbaijan Province.
7Mohammad KhezriOshnavieh, West Azerbaijan ProvinceCivilian19 AprOshnavieh, West Azerbaijan Province.
8Saeid ZargoushAbdanan, Ilam ProvinceCivilian19 AprAbdanan, Ilam Province.
9Loghman AminiSanandaj, Kurdistan ProvinceReligious activist20 AprHamadan, Hamadan Province.
10Ayat GholamiKermanshah, Kermanshah ProvinceReligious activist22 AprKermanshah, Kermanshah ProvinceReleased on bail
11Hassan AhmadiMaku, West Azerbaijan ProvinceArtist26 AprMaku, West Azerbaijan Province.
NameFromType of ActivityCharges AgainstSentenceDate of SentenceIssuing CourtExplanation
1Saber Khoda-MoradiSaqqez, Kurdistan ProvinceReligious activistPropaganda against the state, disturbing public mind22 months imprisonment23 AprSpecial Clerical Court in Hamadan
2Bayan SalehianSaqqez, Kurdistan ProvinceCivilianUnknown5 months imprisonment, fine of 1.5 billion rials25 AprCriminial Court of Orumiyeh