Rahim Shamei, a Kurdish civilian who was arrested during anti-government protests in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, following the government’s killing of Jina Mahsa Amini, has been detained in a state of uncertainty for eight months.
According to a source familiar with the case, the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) summoned and arrested him on 1 December 2022, after he appeared at the agency’s office in Mahabad during the protests.
Shamei was initially held in the intelligence agency’s detention centre in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province, where he was interrogated for two months in harsh conditions, the source said.
He was pressured to make forced “confessions” on the charge of “organising the protests” and was only allowed to make one phone call to his family during that time.
Shamei is currently being held in a state of uncertainty in Mahabad Prison.
