Ministry of Intelligence agents have arrested at least four Kurdish activists and citizens in recent days in the cities of Saqqez, Orumiyeh and Kamyaran.
According to information obtained by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), Ministry of Intelligence forces arrested Kurdish citizen Farshad Souri at his family home in the village of Balu, Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province, on 5 November, and transferred him to the ministry’s detention centre in Orumiyeh.
Souri has since been denied access to a lawyer or family contact.
Previously, his brother Javad Souri was detained by the Public Security Police on 3 October and released on bail four days later.
On 9 November, Ministry of Intelligence agents in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, detained two environmental activists, Mohammad Ali Veysi and Sirwan Khoda-Karami, without presenting judicial warrants.
Veysi was arrested at his workplace, while Khoda-Karami was arrested at his family home. Both were then transferred to an undisclosed location.
Despite repeated attempts by their families to obtain information, the authorities have refused to disclose their whereabouts or legal status.
Veysi is known for his extensive work in wildlife conservation, particularly the treatment of injured birds across Kurdistan.
A day later, on 10 November, security forces raided the home of Ramin Mohammadi in the village of Alak in Kamyaran, Kurdistan Province, arresting him without a warrant and transferring him to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Sanandaj.
Mohammadi, a former member of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, returned to Iran in 2018 after resigning from the party and receiving an amnesty letter. Following his return, he was interrogated for several weeks by the Ministry of Intelligence office in Sanandaj before being released on bail.
