Sasan Chamanara, a Kurdish artist and civil rights activist, has been arrested once again by plainclothes agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organisation in Ilam, Ilam Province, and taken to an undisclosed location, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned.
The arrest took place on 16 July while Chamanara was on his way to meet his lawyer. The artist had recently been summoned to Branch Four of the Ilam Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office on charges of “unauthorised access to computer or telecommunications data and systems”.
Despite the five-day legal window granted in the summons not having expired, the IRGC intelligence agency detained him and transferred him to an unknown location.
His lawyer, Maryam Kian-Ersi, confirmed the arrest on her personal X account (formerly Twitter), writing: “My client, Sasan Chamanara, was arrested today, Wednesday 16 July, in Ilam and taken to an undisclosed location. This is despite the fact that he had been summoned by Branch Four of the Ilam Prosecutor’s Office within the five-day deadline, which had not yet expired.”
Background
Chamanara was previously beaten and arrested on 7 October 2022 during the anti-government uprising of Women Life Freedom in Tehran.
He was interrogated for 21 days in the detention facility of the IRGC) Intelligence Organisation and for 18 days by the Ministry of Intelligence in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, before being transferred to the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary.
In January 2023, Branch 29 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided over by Judge Seyyed Ali Mazloum, sentenced him to five years in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security”.
On 24 January 2023, the artist was released from the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary on bail of 10 billion Iranian rials (nearly 11,000 USD).
Although the Tehran Province Appeals Court upheld the sentence, it was suspended for five years by Branch One of the Execution of Judgements Office.
A few months later, Chamanara was summoned to the prosecutor’s office in Evin Prison, where he was interrogated and accused of “propaganda against the state” in connection with a video clip he had shared on social media on the anniversary of the government’s killing of Jina Amini.
He was arrested again in Ilam on 17 January and taken to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention centre in the city, where he was interrogated for a week before being released on bail on 24 January.
In March, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Ilam sentenced him to three months in prison and fined him 200 million rials (nearly 220 USD) on charges of “propaganda against the state and in favour of opposition groups and media”.
