Dozens of security forces assaulted a group of civil rights activists from several Kurdish cities on 24 July, following the funeral of Esmaeil Karimi, an environmental activist from Kamyaran, Kurdistan Province, and arrested at least five activists.
The funeral of Karimi, an employee of the Natural Resources Department of Kamyaran who died fighting a fire in the Kanisheh pastures, took place in the village of Najaf Abad in Kamyaran on 24 July.
The event was attended by a large crowd of civilians and civil rights activists, who chanted slogans such as “Martyrs never die” and “Mr Esmaeil is a hero, a martyr of Kurdistan”.
Following the ceremony, some activists were invited to lunch by Dr Rahimi, the head of Kamyaran’s Natural Resources Department, at the Kouhestan restaurant on the Sanandaj-Kamyaran road.
After lunch and Dr Rahimi’s departure, dozens of agents from the Ministry of Intelligence, the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Kamyaran’s Police in charge of Supervision over Public Facilities and Locations raided the restaurant, pulled out pistols and AK-47s, and ordered the activists to lie down.
When some activists asked for a court order, the agents responded by beating them and holding guns to their heads. One person, Hamid Sabzeh, was dragged away, followed by the arrests of Amanj Ghorbani, Hesam Mehdizadeh, Amir Nadimi, Farideh Veysi and Farzin Movaffaghi.
All their mobile phones were confiscated, with instructions to retrieve them from Kamyaran’s Police in charge of Supervision over Public Facilities and Locations.
Although Mehdizadeh was released shortly afterwards, the other five were taken to the office of Kamyaran’s Ministry of Intelligence.
After several hours, Nadimi and Movaffaghi were also released, while Veysi was sent to the women’s ward of the Juvenile Detention Centre of Sanandaj and Ghorbani and Sabzeh were taken to Kamyaran Prison.
A bail of two billion rials – nearly 4,000 USD – has reportedly been set for the three activists.
On 25 July, a group of activists went to the office of Kamyaran’s Police in charge of Supervision over Public Facilities and Locations to retrieve their mobile phones, but were directed to the Ministry of Intelligence.
Some activists received their phones after signing written undertakings, while environmental activists Khalil Parandak and Jalil Parandak from Ravansar, Kermanshah Province, were told to return to the Ministry of Intelligence office on 28 July.
Karimi, who was seriously injured while fighting a forest fire, died on 24 July.
