Kurdish civilians Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi, Mohammad Faraji, and Kamran Soltani have been charged with “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz), a crime that carries the possibility of the death penalty in Iran.
The accusations are linked to their alleged “involvement in the murder of a security officer” during the anti-government uprising of Jin Jiyan Azadi (Women Life Freedom) in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province.
Sheikh-Maroufi, Faraji and Soltani were arrested by security forces in Bukan on during the protests on 26 December 2022, 22 February 2023, and 27 February 2023, respectively, and were taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province.
The intelligence ministry subjected the three individuals to torture in solitary cells, pressuring them to make forced confessions related to the accusation of “involvement in the murder of a security officer” in Bukan.
Despite facing intense physical and psychological torture, all three have steadfastly denied the allegations.
At the end of the interrogation period on 10 June 2023, the three men were transferred to Bukan Prison, where they remain under temporary detention awaiting further developments in their case.
