Kurdish sisters charged with ‘propaganda against the state’

Pari Samani and Roya Samani, two Kurdish sisters from Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, have been charged with “propaganda against the state” over their alleged membership of a Telegram group and provisionally released on bail.

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organisation agents went to the sisters’ family home in the Gomrok neighbourhood of Mahabad on 26 August.

The agents confiscated Pari Samani’s mobile phone and Roya Samani’s mobile phone and laptop and instructed the sisters to report to the organisation’s office in Mahabad on 29 August.

The sisters were interrogated after reporting to the office. Security agents told them that a case would be opened against them and referred to a court in Mahabad.

On 5 September, the sisters were summoned to Branch One of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Mahabad, where they were charged with “propaganda against the state”. They were subsequently provisionally released on bail.

Their alleged membership of a Telegram group was cited as the basis for the charge. However, the security agencies have so far presented no documentation or evidence supporting the allegation.