Branch 101 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Kamyaran, in Iran’s northwestern Kurdistan province, has sentenced a Kurdish Sunni cleric named Mohammad Mirza Rahmani and three Kurdish activists, Sirvan Ghorbani, Amanj Ghorbani, and Borhan Kamangar, to 91 days in prison each.
The court issued the sentences under Article 500 of the Iranian Islamic Penal Code on charges of “propaganda in favour of groups opposed to the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
These people’s participation in the funeral of the executed Kurdish political prisoner Heydar Ghorbani, in Kamyaran, and their “unconventional acts such as applauding and reciting poetry and chanting slogans that violate the norms” were considered propaganda in favour of opposition groups.
In the verdict, which was officially notified to the defendants in writing, the court announced that the sentence would be suspended for two years.
The text of the verdict also states: “During the period of suspension; 1. Each defendant must read at least one volume of a book (the defendants’ books must be different from each other) about the roots of the [Iranian] Islamic Revolution, its ideals and achievements, as well as the challenges faced by the Islamic Revolution, and while presenting their excerpts from reading books by mentioning the source in the form of a separate article, finally express their opinion as a result about the committed crime. 2. Within 10 days after the final verdict, in order to promote the culture of benevolence and charity in the society, which is one of the best virtues and the most prominent acts of worship, each of the defendants must provide and buy food items or clothing in the amount of at least ten million Rials for the deprived and people in need in the city of Kamyaran and distribute it in coordination with the welfare department of the city and hand over the receipt to the Department of Execution of Criminal Sentences.”
Background
On 19 December 2021, Iran secretly executed the Kurdish political prisoner Heydar Ghorbani in Sanandaj Central Prison.
Following the news of the execution, despite the threat of the Ministry of Intelligence and the mass presence of security forces, the funeral was held at his family home in Kamyaran for several days in the presence of a large number of people.
Rahmani and Amanj Ghorbani were arrested on 21 and 22 December, respectively, after being summoned to the office of the intelligence ministry in Kamyaran.
Security forces arrested Kamangar and Sirvan Ghorbani on the streets of Kamyaran on 23 December.
After about three weeks of detention, they were temporarily released from Kamyaran and Sanandaj prisons on bail.
