The Islamic Revolutionary Court and Branch 101 of the Criminal Court of Oshnavieh, in Iran’s northwestern West Azarbaijan province, have sentenced six Kurdish civilians to jail terms ranging from six months to five years.
The courts charged the civilians, who come from Oshnavieh, with “acting against national security” by collaborating with a Kurdish opposition party.
The Criminal Court sentenced civilians Ayoub Musa to five years in prison, Siamand Kharazm and Hawre Kharazm to six months in prison each, on charges of “acting against national security” through membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI).
Ayoub Musa was also sentenced to three years in prison and fined to pay 9.7 million Tomans – nearly 388 USD – in another case in which he was accused of “carrying a weapon”.
The trial of the three Kurdish civilians was held in mid-March. The defendants have been notified of their verdicts in recent days.
Separately, on 5 April, Branch 101 of the Oshnavieh Criminal Court sentenced civilians Heidar Alizadeh and Shirzad Mamandi to four and two years’ imprisonment, respectively, both on the charges of “acting against national security” through membership in the KDPI.
The two Kurdish civilians were detained by security forces in Oshnavieh on 26 February 2022. They were released on bail after about a month of interrogation.
In addition, in recent days, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Oshnavieh sentenced another civilian named Vahed Sheikh-Mohammadi to six months imprisonment on charges of “acting against national security” through membership in KDPI.
Sheikh-Mohammadi was detained by security forces on 31 January 2022 and was released on bail 45 days later.
