Arrest

Abdullah Karim-Golan, a Kurdish teacher from Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, was arrested by security forces in the city on 25 November 2024 and taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province.

Defendant’s Rights

He was arrested without a warrant and has since been denied family visits and access to legal representation.

Current Status

Karim-Golan was provisionally released on bail on 6 December.

Additional Information

On 4 December 2024, the Kurdistan Teachers’ Trade Association (Saqqez and Ziviyeh) issued a statement regarding the arrests of Azad Khadem and Abdollah Karim-Gulan and said: “As you are aware, it has been nearly ten days since the ambiguous arrest of Mr. Azad Khadem and Mr. Abdollah Karim-Gulan, both secondary school teachers in Saqqez. Despite repeated inquiries from their families and associates, no accurate information about their whereabouts has been made available, nor have the detaining authorities or judicial bodies provided a satisfactory response to their families. During this time, the detainees have been deprived of proper and regular contact with their families, a fundamental right of every individual. They have only been allowed brief phone calls to inquire about their well-being, and even their families lack precise information about their loved ones’ location.”