Awat Karami, a Kurdish environmental activist from the village of Negel in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, has been arrested by security forces and taken to an undisclosed location.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that security forces raided Karami’s family home in Negel on the evening of 9 August, arresting him violently and without a warrant.
Despite repeated visits and efforts by his family to obtain information about his situation, the security and judicial authorities have continued to refuse to respond or provide any explanation.
At the time of writing, no information was available regarding the reason for Karami’s arrest or the charges brought against him.
Karami is a well-known environmental activist who has played an active role in containing forest fires in the Zagros region and in various environmental campaigns.
Ministry of Intelligence forces previously arrested him in Negel on 16 January 2019. After months of interrogation at the ministry’s detention facility and the Shahramfar detention facility operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organisation in Sanandaj, he was provisionally released on bail in June 2019.
Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj later sentenced him to 40 months in prison on the charge of “acting against national security” through cooperation with the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK).
