Security forces have arrested retired Kurdish teacher and teachers’ union activist Jahangir Rostami in Harsin, Kermanshah Province, while his son and nephew remain in detention.
According to information obtained by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), Rostami, a member of the Harsin Teachers’ Union, was beaten and arrested on 17 October following a raid on his family home by security forces, and taken to an undisclosed location.
The family later received informal information from the Kermanshah Prosecutor’s Office that he had been transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran.
Rostami’s arrest comes as his son, Ehsan Rostami, a publisher and translator, and his nephew, Ramin Rostami, a cultural activist, have been held in detention since 20 August.
The duo were arrested in Tehran alongside three other cultural activists – Hassan Touzandejani, Marjan Ardeshirzadeh, and Nima Mehdizadegan – during simultaneous raids on their homes by security forces.
Ehsan and Ramin Rostami’s families previously reported that both detainees had gone on hunger strike in Ward 209 of Evin Prison to protest their continued detention without due process.
The Harsin Teachers’ Union issued a statement condemning the arrest of Jahangir Rostami and denouncing the security pressures placed on the families of detainees to obtain forced confessions.
“We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Jahangir Rostami, a member of the Harsin Teachers’ Union, and we stand firmly with his esteemed family until his freedom is secured”, the statement said.
During a recent gathering of retirees and teachers in Kermanshah on 19 October, participants also demanded Rostami’s immediate release.
