Seyvan Ebrahimi is a Kurdish language teacher and a member of the board of directors of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association.

Ebrahimi was initially arrested at the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, on 3 January 2023, while following up on the case of his wife, Zara Mohammadi, and was released on bail two days later.

He was arrested again by security forces in Sanandaj on 18 January 2023, and was temporarily released on bail from the city’s prison after 27 days.

In September 2023, Branch 106 of the Sanandaj Criminal Court sentenced him to one year in prison, exile to Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, and 40 lashes on charges of “disturbing public order”.

This sentence was converted in the Kurdistan Provincial Court of Appeal to one year of imprisonment in Sanandaj Central Prison and 40 lashes.

Additionally, on 3 December 2023, in another case, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, presided over by Judge Ali Saeidi, sentenced him to a total of 11 years of imprisonment on charges of “forming groups and factions with the aim of undermining national security” and “propaganda against the state”.

In July 2024, the Kurdistan Provincial Court of Appeal acquitted him of the charge of “forming groups and factions with the aim of undermining national security” and reduced his one-year prison sentence for the charge of “propaganda against the regime” to eight months of imprisonment.

On 3 July 2024, after being summoned to the Sanandaj court, he was sent to Sanandaj Central Prison to serve his eight-month sentence and was released several days later.

1. The Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association was officially established in 2009 with a license from the Ministry of Interior. It has introduced its field of activity as Kurdish language education and raising awareness in social and cultural areas.

2. Article 618 of the Islamic Penal Code: “Anyone who, through uproar, commotion, unconventional behaviour, or harassment of individuals, disrupts public order and peace or prevents people from engaging in their work, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of three months to one year and up to 74 lashes.”

3. Article 489 of the Islamic Penal Code: “Anyone who, with any belief, forms or leads a group, organisation, or branch consisting of more than two people, whether inside or outside the country, under any name or title, with the aim of disrupting national security, and is not recognized as a mohareb (enemy of God), shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of two to 10 years.”

4. Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code: “Anyone who engages in propaganda activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or in favour of groups and organisations opposing the state, in any manner, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of three months to one year.”