Security forces opened fire on the vehicle of Pouria Ahmadi, a former political prisoner and civil rights activist, as he was traveling from Sanandaj to Marivan on 1 August.
After forcing the car to stop, security forces arrested Ahmadi, his wife Sahar Ahmadi, and their child Barzin Ahmadi, and took them to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the activist and his wife were severely beaten during their arrest.
The following day, security forces returned the child to the activist’s family. Images received by KHRN show visible injuries on the child’s body.
In a separate incident on 2 August, security forces reportedly raided Ahmadi’s home and confiscated personal belongings during the search.
There is currently no information available on the current status and well-being of those detained.
Pouria Ahmadi, a former head of education for the Kurdistan branch of the National Unity Party, was previously arrested by the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Sanandaj on 20 February 2019.
He was released on bail after 15 days of interrogation in the agency’s detention centre.
The activist was arrested again on 11 May 2019 by the Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj and released on bail of 3 billion rials – nearly 6,000 USD – after ten days of interrogation.
