Kurdistan Human Rights Network

This report details cases of femicide, suspicious deaths of women, as well as the arrest and imprisonment of Kurdish women activists and their removal from their positions between 25 November 2022 and 25 November 2023.

According to this report, at least 23 Kurdish women were murdered by male family members during this period. The deaths of three others were also reported as suspicious and linked to femicide. The motives for 11 cases were cited as “honour-related,” eight cases involve “family disputes” or divorce requests. The motives for the murders of three women remain unclear.

Out of the confirmed 23 cases, 10 were killed with firearms, nine through strangulation, one by burning, one with a knife, and one with hammer blows. The method of killing for one victim is unknown. The perpetrators were all close family members, including fathers, brothers, husbands, ex-husbands, and relatives such as cousins.

Eight of the victims were single, and 14 were married. One had separated from her husband. Seven of the confirmed cases of femicide, and one suspicious case, involved victims under the age of 18, with six of them being victims of child marriage and forced marriage.

Six of the murdered women resided in urban areas, while 17 lived in rural areas. By provincial distribution, 10 victims were from West Azerbaijan Province, eight from Kermanshah Province, four from Kurdistan Province, and one from Ilam Province.

The KHRN has been able to directly document, through its own sources or by referencing other credible sources, 23 cases of femicide and three suspicious deaths of women:

1. Firouzeh Moradi, a 26-year-old from Kermanshah, was killed in January 2023 during a family dispute, stabbed by her brother. The motive for this murder is not precisely known.
2. Negin Rostami, from Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province, residing in the village of Ney in Marivan, Kurdistan Province, was set on fire by her ex-husband on 23 January 2023. Six days later, on 29 January, she succumbed to severe burns. The motive for this murder is not precisely known.
3. Rezvan Nadimi, a 26-year-old from the village of Zivieh in Kamyaran, Kurdistan Province, was shot by her ex-husband on 31 January 2023. Nadimi had reportedly separated from her husband two years earlier due to his addiction. The ex-husband, for reasons unknown, shot her in the head, abdomen, and leg, causing her death. She was the mother of a daughter and a son.
4. Marefat Karimi, from Orumiyeh in West Azerbaijan Province and the mother of a five-year-old daughter, was murdered 16 February 2023, due to opposing her husband’s marriage to a second woman. Evidence suggests that her husband killed her by strangulation, and visible bruising was found on Karimi’s neck. Reportedly, after the death of his brother, the husband planned to marry his wife, but Karimi opposed the decision. After the murder, the husband was detained by the police.
5. Maryam Soleymani, a 34-year-old mother of three children from the village of Givaran in Khoy, West Azerbaijan Province, was hung on 14 April 2023 by her father and brothers in the village of Ghezel Aghol in Khoy.
   The motive for the murder of Soleymani is said to be related to the public release of private images and videos by an abusive man. Maryam’s husband, facing pressure from his family to divorce her, announced that their young child had accidentally sent the video from her phone. Soleymani was reportedly asking her husband for help while her brothers and father took her away and hanged her at midnight.
   Soleymani was forced by her family into becoming a child bride at the age of 13.
6. Donya Rezaei, 19 years old from the village of Dar Derafsh-e Khanomabad in Kermanshah Province, was strangled to death 16 April 2023, by a male family member for “having a relationship with a man”.
7. Sharivan Hadizadeh, 24 years old from the village of Ghezel Aghol in Khoy, West Azerbaijan Province, was shot by her husband on 29 April 2023, due to suspicions of having a relationship with her cousin. The young woman’s cousin was also killed in the shooting.
8. Parastou Shahbazi, an 18-year-old mother of a young child from the village of Miraki in Dehgolan, Kurdistan Province, was hanged and stabbed multiple times by her husband on 29 May 2023 after facing physical abuse.
   Shahbazi was a victim of child marriage and after his parents’ divorce and his mother’s remarriage, she was forced to marry by his stepfather at the age of 12. Reportedly, her husband, in addition to financial poverty, suffered severely from substance abuse addiction. Most of the time, he subjected Shahbazi to physical abuse and violence.
9. A 38-year-old woman in Ilam was murdered on 3 June 2023, due to what is termed as “family disputes” by her 68-year-old father. Further details on this case are not available.
10. Rojin Azimi, 17 years old from the village of Akhkand in Dehgolan, Kurdistan Province, was killed on 3 June 2023, by her brother using multiple axe blows, on the suspicion of having a relationship with a young man.
    An activist in Dehgolan provided details of this killing in an interview with Etemad newspaper and said: “About a year ago, Rojin had an accident while in a car with a boy. The story reached this girl’s family, and her father kicked her out of the house. She spent one year in the welfare centre in Sanandaj until recently when her father went there and brought her daughter back home. When Rojin returned to their village, rumours and gossip started. The villagers, relatives, and family members behind her back were saying that her family was dishonourable, until the day of the incident when Rojin’s brother, with a small axe […], murdered his sister.”
11. Zilan Ayvaz, 15 years old from the village of Ziveh in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan Province, was shot by her father on 7 July 2023. The motive for killing his daughter was solely based on “receiving a message from a boy.” According to Zilan’s uncle, she had been forced to quit school three years prior to the murder.
12. Raheleh Rahdar, 15 years old from the village of Razi in the Qatur County of Khoy, West Azerbaijan Province, was strangled by her father and mother 13 July 2023, on the accusation of “having a relationship with a man other than her husband”.
    Raheleh was a victim of forced marriage at the age of 12, pressured by her father and mother to marry a man approximately 10 to 15 years older than her. She had moved to Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province, after marriage.
13. Tahereh Sadeghi, 30 years old from Malekshahi, Ilam Province, suspiciously lost her life on 1 August 2023. Her husband told her parents over the phone that she had committed suicide by taking pills, while her lifeless body was discovered with a scarf tied around her neck and visible bruises on her body.
    Tahereh had reportedly previously experienced conflicts and physical abuse from her husband and his family.
14. Mona Aghaei, 14 years old from the village of Kani Kaboud, living in Ravansar, Kermanshah Province, died under suspicious circumstances on 24 August 2023. Some sources of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) in Ravansar said that Mona was killed by her brother because she intended to divorce her husband, while others attribute her death to suicide due to family pressure against divorce. Aghaei was a victim of child marriage and forced marriage.
15. Mahya Naderi, 14 years old from Sarpol-e Zahab, Kermanshah Province, was killed by her cousin with a hunting rifle on 8 September 2023. Reportedly, she was killed with the knowledge of Naderi’s father and due to her “romantic relationship with a boy and her escape from home”.
16. On 18 September 2023, the lifeless body of 19-year-old Hayedeh Hassanzadeh was found in the Sardasht Dam in West Azerbaijan Province, with her feet bound by a cement block. After the autopsy and subsequent investigations, it became evident that this adolescent girl had been murdered by her father four months prior. The family had previously claimed that Hayedeh had run away from home and left the country. Further inquiries revealed that her father was the perpetrator, who justified the murder by stating, “My daughter did not pay attention my words and did not come home until late”.
17. Fatemeh Mohammad-Panahi, a 17-year-old from the village of Marghan in Sardasht, West Azerbaijan Province, was shot and killed by her two stepbrothers and her husband. Mohammad-Panahi, a victim of forced child marriage, sought separation from her husband, who was her cousin, one year after their marriage, but her family opposed this decision. According to one of the relatives, the perpetrators had a history of violence against women, and Fatemeh’s father had four wives.
18. Shahin Ebrahimzadeh, 21 years old from the village of Gulan in the Sardasht district of West Azerbaijan province, was strangled to death by her father and uncle on 5 October 2023. Shahin, who had married against her father’s wishes a few years earlier, separated from her husband after two years and returned to her parents’ home. Suspecting her involvement with a new suitor, her father and uncle took her life.
19. Trouskeh Abdollahzadeh, a 21-year-old mother of two children from the village of Kaseh Garan who lived in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan Province, was killed on 14 October 2023 by her father, her father-in-law, and her husband. The motive for the murder of this young woman, who was forced into marriage at the age of 13 with her cousin, was labelled as “having telephone contact with a man”. Abdollahzadeh was killed by beating, strangulation and severe blows to the neck.
20. Somayyeh Mam-Khezri, from the village of Sheykhlar in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, suspiciously lost her life on 18 October 2023. Initially declared a suicide, it was later suggested that her ex-husband, upon learning of her intention to marry someone else, murdered her and then committed suicide.
21. Vida Dehghan Piranjough, a 20-year-old mother of one child from the village of Piranjough in the Soma-ye Bradost area of Orumiyeh, living in Orumiyeh, was strangled to death by her 15-year-old brother on 28 October 2023, on suspicion of having an “extramarital sexual relationship”. Vida was reportedly living separately from her husband for about two years due to conflicts.

22/23. Negar Mahmoudi, from Gilangharb in Kermanshah Province, was shot by her ex-husband On 14 November 2023. Mahmoudi and her father were attacked by her ex-husband on the way to her workplace. Negar’s father was severely injured. The ex-husband then went to Mahmoudi’s mother’s house and shot her as well. The motive for these killings was cited as “family disputes”.

24/25/26. On 19 November 2023, a 52-year-old man in the village of Qazanchi in Kermanshah Province killed three women from his family. He used a weapon to murder his wife, his sister-in-law, and the bride of the family and later turned himself in to the Qazanchi police station. The man attributed these killings to “family disputes.”

Armita Geravand, born on 2 April 2006, in Kermanshah, comes from a family in Kouhdasht, Lorestan province, which has been residing in Tehran in recent years. On 1 October 2023, the 17-year-old encountered an assault by government agents, commonly known as the morality police, on the Shohada Metro line in Tehran for not wearing a hijab. Following the blow to her head, she lost consciousness.
Since the transfer of their daughter to a military hospital and the widespread dissemination of news about Geravand’s beatings by government agents in Tehran’s Shohada Metro line due to her hijab, her family was under the control and pressure of security forces. They were even forced to participate in television interviews to deny the news of their daughter’s beating by government agents.
After announcing the news of Geravand’s death, the Islamic Republic first took her body hostage, preventing its transfer for burial in Kermanshah, her birthplace or Kuhdasht, the residence of her paternal and maternal relatives. The funeral ceremony in Tehran was also heavily controlled by security forces, resulting in the detention of dozens of people, including Geravand’s relatives, families of protesters killed during last year’s anti-government protests, and civil and political activists.

Arrests, sentences, political prisoners

In continuation of this report, we will take a look at instances of arrests, prison sentences, and dismissals for Kurdish women activists, as well as the situation of Kurdish women political prisoners from November 25, 2022, to November 25, 2023.

In the past year, at least 39 Kurdish women have been arrested by security forces in various cities in Kurdistan on various charges. Different sentences have been issued for 16 Kurdish women, with three Kurdish women being transferred to prison for the execution of sentences, and at least four Kurdish women being expelled from their jobs due to political or labour activities.

1. Soheila Motaei, was convicted by Branch Two of the Criminal Court of Dehgolan, Kurdistan Province, in December 2022. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of “disturbing public order”, 15 months for “propaganda activities against the state”, 13 months for “dissemination of falsehoods disturbing public minds”, nine months for “promotion of groups and organizations opposing the state”, and five months for “rebellion against authorities”.
2. Ziba Omidifar, a journalist from the Kurd Press news agency in Qorveh, Kurdistan Province, was detained by security forces in Qorveh on 8 December 2022, and was transferred to the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Sanandaj. She was held in solitary confinement during her detention and subjected to psychological torture and harassment by security forces. On 15 December 2022, she was transferred to Kowsar Hospital in Sanandaj with a low level of consciousness.
3. Shler Zamani was arrested during the anti-government protests in Sanandaj on 14 December 2022, and was released after three days of detention. Security interrogators published Zamani’s forced “confession” video on her Instagram page.
4. Sonia Sharifi, 17, who had been detained by security forces during the anti-government protests in Abdanan, Ilam Province, on 19 November 2022, was temporarily released from the Juvenile Detention Centre of Ilam on 15 December 2022, on a bail of 4 billion rials – nearly 8,000 USD.
5. Mozhgan Kavousi, a political prisoner from Kalardasht, Mazandaran Province, in December 2022, was sentenced by the first branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sari to 39 in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security”, to 15 months and one day in jail for “insulting the leadership [of the Islamic Republic]”, and eight months for “propaganda activities against the state”.
6. Shilan Rashidzadeh, a member of the Hiway Zanist Association in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, was arrested by security forces on 3 January 2023. The activist was temporarily released from the Juvenile Detention Centre of Sanandaj on 24 January 2023, on a bail of 10 billion rials – nearly 20,000 USD.
7. Mahsa Farhadi, from Sanandaj and a resident of Tehran, was sentenced by the second branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Shahriar to two years in prison in January 2023 on charges of “assembly and collusion with the aim of undermining national security.” On 15 November 2022, she was beaten and arrested by security forces for not wearing a headscarf.
8. Shadi Amiri, a civil rights activist, was arrested by security forces on 14 January 2023, after being summoned to the court in Dehgolan, Kurdistan Province. She was released on bail of 4 billion rials – nearly 8,000 USD – after the charges against her were explained.
9. Soma Pourmohammadi, a Kurdish language teacher and a member of the board of directors of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, was arrested by security forces on 18 January 2023. She was temporarily released on bail of 10 billion rials – nearly 20,000 USD – on 13 February 2023.
10. Faezeh Modares Gorji, a civilian from Sanandaj, was arrested on 18 January 2023 after she went to the police station in Sanandaj to take the license plate of her personal car back, which had been confiscated by law enforcement officers in Behesht-e Mohammadi in Sanandaj during the anniversary ceremony of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash. She was released a few hours later.
11. Hosna (Kazhal) Vatanpour, a legal advisor and women’s rights activist, was convicted by the third branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Ilam February 2023. The court sentenced her to one year in prison, six months of suspended imprisonment, the revocation of her passport, and 1100 hours of free legal counselling on charges of “propaganda against the state”, “assembly and collusion against internal and foreign security”, and “disruption of public order”. Shortly after the confirmation of the sentence, she was transferred to Ilam Prison.
    Vatanpour was beaten and arrested by security forces during the anti-government protests in Ilam on 25 August 2022 and transferred to the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Ilam. On 15 November 2022, she was temporarily released on bail.
12. Galawezh Ahmadi, a civil rights activist, photographer, and manager of the Azhin studio, was arraigned by the second investigation branch of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Sanandaj on 25 January 2023. She was accused of “acting against national security”, “spreading falsehoods”, and “communicating with opposition media”. On 21 January 2023, IRGC intelligence forces raided her studio in Sanandaj, insulting Ahmadi, the studio manager, and its staff, causing damage to the studio’s equipment.
13. Negar Davoudi, a student from Ilam, in February 2023 was sentenced by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Ilam and Branch 103 of the Criminal Court Two in Ilam to two years in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion with the intention of acting against national security”, one year of community service for “insulting the leadership”, three years in prison for “disturbing public order and peace”, 74 lashes and a two-year international travel ban and attending 200 hours of Quran interpretation classes to be approved with a certificate from the Islamic Propaganda Organisation of Ilam province.
    Due to Davoudi’s clean criminal record, Branch 103 of Criminal Court 2 converted the sentence of three months in prison and 74 lashes into a fine of 240 million Iranian Rials – nearly 500 USD.
    Davoudi was detained at her family home on 15 November 2022 and was taken to the detention centre of the Ministry of Intelligence in the city and released on a bail of 5 billion rials – nearly 10,000 USD – pending trial.
14. Kazhal Khaledian, from Sanandaj, was arrested on 28 January 2023 after being summoned to the Police in charge of Supervision over Public Facilities and Locations in the city.
15. Srwa Pour-Mohammadi, a member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, was arrested by security forces on 29 January and released on bail of 10 billion rials – 20,000 USD – on 13 February. Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj sentenced her to 10 years in prison on charges of “forming or participating in illegal groups or associations” on 26 September.
16. Farzaneh Seydi, a student from Ilam, had her sentence revised in February 2023 by the Provincial Appeals Court of Ilam, converting her earlier sentences to a suspended two-year and two-month imprisonment, a cash fine of 250 million rials, a two-year international travel ban, and the nullification of her passport.
    Previously, Seydi had been sentenced by the Islamic Revolutionary Court and the Criminal Court of Ilam to a total of four years and three months in prison, a two-year ban on international travels, and passport annulment on charges of “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against domestic/foreign security”, “propaganda against the state”, and “disturbing public order”.
    Seydi was arrested during the anti-government protests in Ilam on 15 October 2022 protests in Ilam and released temporarily on bail of 3 billion tomans.
17. Shilan Kurdistani, a translator and member of the Zhivano women’s group, was sentenced by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj in April 2023 to two years and nine months in prison for “membership in the Zhivano women’s group” and seven months for “propaganda against the state”. According to the Law on Consolidation of Sentences, the stricter punishment of two years and nine months is enforceable.
    Kurdistani was arrested by security forces in Sanandaj 23 October 2022 and released on bail after completing the interrogation period.
18. Fariba Zand-Karimi, a teacher and women’s rights activist in Sanandaj, was arrested on 5 April 2023 after she was summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence in the city. Three weeks later, 25 April, she was temporarily released on bail of 5 billion rials – nearly 10,000 USD – from the Juvenile Detention Centre of Sanandaj.
19. Zhina Modares Gorji, a journalist and women’s rights activist in Sanandaj, was arrested for the second time during the anti-government protests on 10 April 2023. On 3 July 2023, after 84 days, she was temporarily released on bail of 50 billion rials – nearly 100,000 USD – from the Juvenile Detention Centre of Sanandaj.
    During her detention, Modares Gorji was transferred to the Sanandaj Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office several times and was charged with “collaborating with a hostile government”, “spreading lies”, “propagating against the state” and “acting against national security” through “forming and membership of an illegal group”.
20. Fatemeh Maghsoudi, the mother of Edris Feqhi, a member of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) who was forcibly disappeared nearly two years ago by the IRGC’s intelligence service, was detained on 9 May, after staging a three-day sit-in outside the IRGC intelligence office in Orumiyeh.
21. Sorayya Gheytaran was arrested by security forces in Piranshahr on 26 June. Her two brothers had also been previously arrested by security forces. Gheytaran and her two brothers were temporarily released on bail on 16 July.
22. Shahla Choupani was arrested by security forces in Sanandaj on 26 June 2023 and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre. After temporary release in September, she was sentenced to three months in prison by Branch 105 of the Criminal Court of Sanandaj on charges of “collaboration with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan”.
23. Bayan Farajollahi was arrested by security forces in Sanandaj on 17 July 2023, and temporarily released on 26 August on bail of 20 billion rials – nearly 40,000 USD.
24. Varan Mohammadnezhad, a member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association in Sanandaj, who was arrested during the anti-government uprising of Women Life Freedom, was sentenced to one year of suspended imprisonment by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj in August 2023.
25. Sahar Ahmadi, who was arrested along with her husband and their young son on 1 August 2023 after their car was shot at by security forces near Sanandaj. She was temporarily released on bail on 11 August.
26. Wrisha Moradi, a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women Society (KJAR) with the organisational code name of Jwana Sna, was beaten and arrested by the security forces in Sanandaj on 1 August. Since her arrest, Moradi’s family has made repeated visits to security institutions and the Sanandaj courthouse seeking information about her, but has received no response about her fate.
27. Pakhshan Azizi, a political activist from Mahabad, was arrested by security forces in Tehran on 4 August 2023. After more than four months, there is still no information about her status.
    Azizi is a Kurdish former political prisoner and social work graduate from the University of Tehran. She was first arrested by security forces on 16 November 2009 during a gathering of Kurdish students at Tehran University to protest politically motivated executions in Kurdistan, and was released on bail after four months.
28. Fereshteh Mansouri, a Kurdish civil rights activist from Sarableh, Ilam Province, was sentenced to six months and one day suspended imprisonment by Branch 101 of the Criminal Court of Chardavol, Ilam Province, on 5 August 2023. She was convicted of “spreading falsehoods with the intention of disturbing public opinion”.
    Mansouri was arrested during anti-government protests in Ilam in October 2022 and was temporarily released on bail of 5.5 billion rials – nearly 11,000 USD – after two weeks.
29. Bahar Ahmadi was arrested by security forces in Sanandaj 12 August 2023.
30. Zilan Molaei and Zeryan Molaei, two sisters and students in Sanandaj, were arrested by security forces on 13 August. They were temporarily released on bail five days later.
31. Frmesk Babaei was arrested by security forces during anti-government protests in Paveh on 17 August 2023.
32. Ziba Ghelichkhani, who had been previously arrested during the anti-government protests in Bijar, was re-arrested on 17 August 2023, after being charged with “propaganda against the state in the virtual space by writing critical comments” and “complaint by a security official that Ms. Ghelichkhani engaged in spitting while crossing the street”. She had been previously arrested during the 18 September 2022 protests in Bijar and temporarily released on bail of 20 billion rials – nearly 40,000 USD.
33. Khadijeh Mehdipour, from Eyvan-e Gharb in Ilam Province, who had been sentenced in May 2022 by Branch 103 of the Criminal Court of Ilam to three months and one day of imprisonment for spreading “falsehoods in the virtual space with the intention of disturbing public opinion,” was sent to prison in Ilam on 19 August 2023, to serve her sentence. On 22 October 2023, she was released from Ilam prison after serving two-thirds of her sentence.
34. Sharmin Habibi, the wife of Fereydoun Mahmoudi, a protester killed during the anti-government uprising of Women Life Freedom, was arrested by security forces in Saqqez on 22 August 2023.
35. Mahvash Tavassoli was sentenced to two years of electronic monitoring by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Piranshahr in September 2023 and her husband, Jotyar Ashrafzadeh, was sentenced to three years in prison. They were charged with “conspiracy against national security” and “propaganda against the state” due to their participation in the protests in Piranshahr. The couple had been previously arrested on 20 October 2022, during the protests, and released on bail after interrogation.
36. Nazila Maroofian, a journalist from Saqqez residing in Tehran, was arrested for the fourth time on 30 August 2023 since the beginning of the Women Life Freedom uprising. In a phone call from Evin Prison she said that she had been subjected to sexual assault and physical violence by security forces during her detention.
37. Hero Ghadimi, a civil rights activist, was arrested by security forces in Saqqez on 12 September 2023 and released temporarily after 35 days on bail from the Juvenile Detention Centre in Sanandaj.
38. Samira Ahmadi was detained by security forces of the Ministry of Intelligence on one of the streets in Saqqez 13 September 2023. She was temporarily released on bail from the Juvenile Detention Centre in Sanandaj 17 October.
39. Rezan Saedi, 17, the aunt of Sarina Saedi, a protester killed during the anti-government protests, and Moayyed Saedi, the 15-year-old brother of Sarina Saedi, were arrested by security forces in Behesht-e Mohammadi cemetery in Sanandaj on 14 September 2023.
40. Fakhrieh Omidi and Batoul Omidi were arrested and sent to Ilam prison on 11 September 2023. The two sisters were accused of “propaganda against the state” for distributing pamphlets throughout the city.
41. Galawezh Tahmasebi, an environmental activist and mountaineer from Sanandaj, was arrested on 16 September 2023, after being summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence in the city. She had been previously arrested for 15 days during Women Life Freedom uprising.
42. Parisa Mohammadi, a mountaineer from Kermanshah, was beaten and arrested by security forces on one of the streets in the city on 16 September 2023.
43. Hoda Sadeghi was beaten and arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence forces during the commemoration ceremony of the first anniversary of the killing of Mohsen Gheysari in Ilam on 21 September 2023 and subsequently taken to the ministry’s detention centre in Ilam.
44. Sakineh Parvaneh, a Kurdish political prisoner, was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mashhad on various charges, including “propaganda against the state”, “assembly and collusion,” and “insulting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran” in October 2023. The sentence was confirmed by the Appeals Court of Razavi Khorasan Province on 31 October.
    The court and the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) cited a video circulating on social media and in the media showing Parvaneh at the grave of Ali Mozaffari, a protester killed during the Women Life Freedom uprising in Quchan, Razavi Khorasan Province, as evidence supporting the charges.
    Parvaneh, who was previously released under amnesty from Mashhad Central Prison on 11 February 2023, was arrested by the Intelligence Organisation of the IRGC at the Mashhad Bus Terminal on 4 April and taken to the military-security organisation’s detention centre.
    After initial interrogations, the former political prisoner was transferred to Mashhad Central Prison on 14 April.
    The former political prisoner was also arrested in Tehran on 7 March, nearly a month after her release under amnesty, but was released after four days.
45. Narges Soleimani was arrested by security forces in Qorveh in October 2023. She had previously been arrested during the Women Life Freedom uprising along with her daughter.
46. Fereshteh Fadaiefar was arrested by security forces in Qorveh in October 2023.
47. Solmaz Hassanzadeh, the sister of Shariar Mohammad Hassanzadeh, a protester killed during the anti-government protests, was arrested by security forces in Bukan on 28 September 2023, along with three other civilians, Sheyda Rezaei, Shirin Khayyat and Simin Khayyat, at the entrance of Saqqez.
    She was previously arrested on 5 September 2023 along with her father Ahmad Hassanzadeh after being summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence in Bukan.
48. Asrin Mohammadi, the sister of Shahriar Mohammadi, a protester killed during the anti-government uprising, was arrested by the security forces in Bukan on 15 November 2023, on the eve of her brother’s anniversary.
49. Hajar Saeidi, a labour and women’s rights activist in Sanandaj, was imprisoned on 18 November to serve a one-year sentence at the Juvenile Detention Centre of Sanandaj. She was charges with “assembly and collusion” by allegedly forming a communist group to encourage the families of the protesters killed during the anti-government uprising of Women Life Freedom to engage in communist activities and “actions against national security”. Saeidi had been previously arrested on 17 May 2023, seven other labour activists while they were visiting the family of Houman Abdollahi, one of the protesters killed by state forces during the anti-government uprising of Women Life Freedom. She was beaten and arrested by security forces and later released from the Juvenile Detention Centre of Sanandaj on 18 June on bail of to 5 billion rials – nearly 10,000 USD.
50. Zeynab Jalalian, the only woman political prisoner serving a life sentence in Iran, is currently held in Yazd Central Prison. In the 16th year of her imprisonment, she continues to be deprived of the right to access medical services and receive visits by her family. Jalalian, born on 6 June 1982 in the village of Dim Qeshlaq in Maku, was arrested in Kermanshah on 26 February 2008.
    After months of solitary confinement and severe physical and psychological torture at the hands of the Ministry of Intelligence in Kermanshah, she was sentenced to death by the Islamic Revolutionary Court on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) for her membership of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK). Although the sentence was later upheld by the Supreme Court, it was commuted to life imprisonment in 2011.
51. Soheyla Mohammadi, a Kurdish political prisoner, is currently held in the women’s section of Orumiyeh Central Prison. Despite serving the third year of her five-year sentence, she is still denied the right to furlough to visit her family, especially her young child. Her family had previously provided substantial bail for her temporary leave, but prison authorities have refrained from approving it. Due to the lack of consent for her furlough request, Mohammadi has resorted to multiple hunger strikes. In March 2023, under pressure from security forces and the denial of her furlough request, she attempted to end her life by inflicting several knife wounds. This political prisoner from Salmas, West Azerbaijan Province, was arrested in 2020 by the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Subsequently, she was transferred to the women’s section of Orumiyeh Central Prison after several months of interrogation. She was later sentenced by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh to five years in prison on charges of “membership of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK).”
52. Saada Khedirzadeh, who was arrested on 14 October 2021 has completed the third year of her imprisonment in the women’s section of Orumiyeh Central Prison. After about 11 months of detention, she was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison by Branch Three of the Criminal Court in Mahabad on charges of “aiding and abetting the murder of an IRGC member and “helping a suspect to escape”. Amnesty International issued a statement about Khedirzadeh’s situation and said: “Her detention is contrary to the standards of a fair trial and is considered arbitrary under international law because she has been detained for a long time without knowing the reasons for her detention and has been denied access to a lawyer.”
53. Parisa Veryani, the director of the School of Fine Arts in Sanandaj, was expelled from her job for supporting students against security forces during Women Life Freedom uprising.
54. Shiva Ameli Rad, a member of the Teachers’ Trade Union in Marivan, was also dismissed after attending an international ceremony without hijab. The Ministry of Education in Marivan dismissed the activist without following administrative procedures and allowing her the right to object the decision. The implementation of the decision came when Ms. Ameli Rad received the special peace award to the Coordinating Council of Iranian Educators’ Trade Union in South Korea, where she attended without hijab and received the award as the international representative of the council.
55. Shilan Yousefi, a teacher from Saqqez, was sentenced to forced retirement by the Preliminary Disciplinary Board of the Directorate General of Education in Kurdistan Province. Despite the Ministry of Intelligence’s inquiry to her return to work, the disciplinary board of the Ministry of Educetion in Saqqez did not allow her to continue teaching, citing her participation in teachers’ union gatherings and her online activities in support of the Women Life Freedom uprising as grounds for disciplinary action.
56. Bahar Zangiband, a women’s rights activist and a physical education instructor at the Azad University of Sanandaj, was denied teaching at the university in April 2023. Despite the Ministry of Intelligence’s inquiry to let her return to work, the university’s security did not allow her to continue teaching due to her participation in the anti-government protests and her subsequent arrest by security forces. Zangiband, from Sanandaj, was arrested in the courtyard of the university by security forces 19 September 2022 after protesting the government’s murder of Zhina Amini.
57. Zhian Aghad Yousef, a Kurdish civilian holding Turkish citizenship, was arrested in the fall of 2022 in Orumiyeh and transferred to the city’s central prison after about five months of interrogation at the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre. She has been transferred from prison to the Ministry of Intelligence and the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC in Orumiyeh several times for interrogation. She is accused of “acting against national security” through her membership in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).