Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence yesterday summoned and interrogated five family members of Azad Hosseinpouri, who was killed by security forces during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, last November.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the Ministry of Intelligence interrogated the family members for several hours about their social media activities and ordered them to appear for further questioning on 15 July.
Family members Shima Hosseinpour, Shirin Hosseinpouri, Fariba Hosseinpouri, Shahrouz Hosseinpouri and Rahman Esmaeili were summoned by telephone and without a court order.
The incident is the latest sign of the growing pressure on the families of victims of anti-government protests as the anniversary of the uprising approaches.
In a related incident, intelligence officers had summoned and threatened an individual who had designed and built the tombstone of Azad Hosseinpour, pressuring him to remove the word “martyr” from the tombstone and threatening to seal his business if he did not.
Due to threats and pressure, the word “martyr” was later removed from the gravestone.
Azad Hosseinpouri, a 31-year-old medical student from Mahabad, was shot dead by security forces during the anti-government protests in Mahabad on 17 November.
