Kurdistan Human Rights Network

Reports from Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) sources indicate that the Islamic Republic of Iran's military-security forces continue to maintain their presence with light and semi-heavy weapons at the entrances to Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, and Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, closely monitoring the movements of civilians. In both cities, these security forces and special police units remain prominently positioned in the streets and main squares. In addition,...

Security forces raided the home of Kurdish Sunni cleric Mohammad Sharifi in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, arresting him without a warrant on 27 August. Sources indicate that during the operation, officers forced their way into the cleric's home, breaking doors and windows in the process. They also confiscated his personal belongings. Details of the charges brought against Sharifi and his current whereabouts remain unknown. The incident follows...

Iranian security forces in Saqqez, Kurdistan province, detained a group of family members of victims of recent anti-government protests on 10 June, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. A group of 30 people, including several minors, had travelled from the cities of Dehgolan, Sanandaj and Divandareh in Kurdistan province to Saqqez, Kurdistan province, and Bukan, West Azerbaijan province, to visit the graves of...

The Special Clerical Court of Hamadan, in west Iran, has recently summoned Sunni Kurdish clerics Madeh Karami and Abdoljabbar Lotfi for their support of anti-government protests. Karami, the imam of the village of Huyeh in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, was summoned to appear in court on 21 May. Lotfi, a teacher and imam at the Ershad mosque in Sanandaj, has been summoned to the clerics' court for...

The Special Clerical Court in Hamadan in western Iran sentenced Sunni Kurdish cleric Seyyed Jalal Akbari to two years suspended imprisonment on charges of "propaganda against the state" on 10 May. Akbari, the imam of a mosque in the village of Degagah in Sarvabad, Kurdistan province, was tried on 10 May and was informed of the court's decision on the same day. Since late March, the...