A group of Kurdish clerics gathered in front of the office of the Grand Islamic Centre of Piranshahr, in West Azarbaijan province, on 12 July and demanded the immediate release of the detained Kurdish cleric Younes Nowkhah.

During the rally, representatives of the protesting clerics met with the officials of the Grand Islamic Centre and were promised that Nowkhah’s case would be followed up.

On 7 July, Iranian security forces detained Nowkhah, a teacher at the Salahuddin Ayubi School of Religious Studies in Piranshahr.

In a brief phone call with his family, the Kurdish cleric said he had been taken to the detention centre of the Ministry of Intelligence in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province.

The cleric was reportedly arrested for criticising the Iranian government.

He is also one of the prominent trainers of paragliding in Iran.