Investigations carried out by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) show that many Kurdish civilians and activists from Iran have become victims of human rights violations in February 2022.
The followings are the detailed information collected by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) statistics and documentation centre regarding these violations.
Executions
In February, Iran executed two prisoners in Eslamabad-e Gharb in Kermanshah province and Malekshahi in the western province of Ilam for “premeditated murder”.
These are the cases on which the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has been informed through its sources. But the number of those executed is likely to be higher.
| Name | From | Charged with | Execution date | Execution location | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moseib Faraji | Eslam Abad-e Gharb | Premeditated murder | 13 Feb | Dizel Abad Prison, Kermanshah | 34 years old |
| 2 | Farshad Farazi | Malekshahi, Ilam | Premeditated murder | 23 Feb | Ilam Central Prison | Executed after 8 years in prison, 30 years old |
Femicide
On 18 February, a man killed his daughter-in-law due to an alleged “family dispute” in Iran’s western province of Ilam.
On the same day, another man killed his wife in the Kermanshah province, northwestern Iran, for unknown reasons.
| Name | Location | Date | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tahereh Shafiei | Ilam | 18 Feb | Killed by father-in-law due to family dispute |
| 2 | Fatemeh Sameti | Kermanshah | 18 Feb | Killed by husband, reason unknown |
Kolbars and tradesmen
In February, four kolbars lost their lives and nine were injured. Many of these were young men under the age of 30.
At least four kolbars were injured following shootings by Iranian border forces in the country’s western borders.
One kolbar fell from mountain heights, four were injured in landmine explosions, two were poisoned by gas, one drowned in a river, and one had a heart attack.
In addition, a Kurdish tradesman named Saadi Piran was shot and killed by Iranian police in the border area of Siranband in Baneh, Kurdistan province, on 25 February.
| Name | From | Incident location | Incident date | Dead/injured | Explanation | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osman Badri | Salas-e Babajani | Nowsud border areas | 13 Feb | Injured | Shot by border forces | |||||||||
| 2 | Azad Esmaeilpour | Sardasht | Alvatan village | 14 Feb | Dead | Fell from border heights, 37-year-old father of two | |||||||||
| 3 | Farshad Rostamnezhad | Paveh | Nowsud border areas | 15 Feb | Injured | Shot by border forces, 33 years old | |||||||||
| 4 | Chiako Taherinia | Sarvabad | Paveh | 15 Feb | Dead | Gas poisoning, 24 years old | |||||||||
| 5 | Fardin Panahi | Sarvabad | Paveh | 15 Feb | Dead | Gas poisoning, 25 years old | |||||||||
| 6 | Saadi Zeini | Baneh | Sartazin border area of Baneh | 16 Feb | Injured | Shot by border forces | |||||||||
| 7 | Ali Darvishanfard | Salas-e Babajani | Nowsud border areas | 20 Feb | Dead | Heart attack, 47 years old | |||||||||
| 8 | Arkan Mahmoudi | Bayangan | Soufi Janeh border area in Shushami | 21 Feb | Injured | Landmine explosion, 25 years old | |||||||||
| 9 | Foad Ebrahimzadeh | Sardasht | Hangeh-ye Zhal, Baneh | 21 Feb | Injured | Landmine explosion, 24 years old | |||||||||
| 10 | Kianoush Raoufi | Sardasht | Hangeh-ye Zhal, Baneh | 21 Feb | Injured | Landmine explosion, 24 years old | |||||||||
| 11 | Amanj Ebrahimpour | Sardasht | Hangeh-ye Zhal, Baneh | 21 Feb | Injured | Landmine explosion, 22 years old | |||||||||
| 12 | Dana Salehpour | Baneh | Nirvan village | 23 Feb | Injured | Drowned in Tazhian river, body not found yet, 19 years old | |||||||||
| 13 | Foad Rahpeikar | Marivan | Zhalane border area in Sarvabad | 24 Feb | Injured | Shot by border forces |
Worker accidents
During February, at least six workers lost their lives in work accidents. Two workers died as a result of falling from buildings and four lost their lives due to electric shock.
| Name | Location of incident | Date of incident | Dead/injured | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Behzad Salavati | Shiraz | 1 Feb | Dead | Fell from building |
| 2 | Abdollah Rouhi | Zanjan | 9 Feb | Dead | Fell from building, from Sarvabad |
| 3 | Mehdi Hosseini | Paveh | 10 Feb | Dead | Due to electric shock, 30 years old, worker at electricity department |
| 4 | Abdollah Veysi | Bandar Imam Khomeini | 13 Feb | Dead | Truck driver, due to electric shock |
| 5 | Payam Ahmadi | Sanandaj | 14 Feb | Dead | Due to electric shock |
| 6 | Omid Rahmani | Kamyaran | 23 Feb | Dead | Due to electric shock and falling from building, 22 years old |
Landmine explosions
In February, landmine blasts injured at least three civilians in Iranian Kurdistan, including two children aged five and 11.
| Name | Location of Incident | Date of incident | Status | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unknown | Dasht Abbas, Dehloran | 15 Feb | Injured | 45-year-old, from a nomadic tribe |
| 2 | Soheil Hashemi | Reza Abad, Mehran | 15 Feb | Injured | 5-year-old child, explosion while playing |
| 3 | Unknown | Khosravi border | 17 Feb | Injured | 11-year-old child, explosion while grazing livestock |
Detentions and arrests
Throughout February, Iranian security forces detained at least 23 people in Iranian Kurdistan.
These included 18 civilians, four activists, and the mother of a Kurdish woman political prisoner, Zeynab Jalalian.
From these individuals, 10 were jailed to serve various sentences in the prisons of Naqadeh, Bukan, Oshnavieh, and Piranshahr in the northwestern West Azerbaijan province.
| Name | Detention location | Detention date | Activity | Location held and latest status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salah Bahramian | Oshnavieh | 2 Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 2-year prison sentence in Oshnavieh Prison |
| 2 | Saeid Ghaderi | Javanrud | 6 Feb | Civilian | Unknown |
| 3 | Ramin Ghaderi | Javanrud | 7 Feb | Civilian | Unknown |
| 4 | Mohammad Salimi | Saqqez | 8 Feb | Civilian | Unknown |
| 5 | Khabat Dehdar | Sanandaj | 8 Feb | Labour activist | Taken to Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj |
| 6 | Kaveh Rashidzadeh | Saqqez | 8 Feb | Civilian | Unknown |
| 7 | Soran Sharifi | Bukan | 9 Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 5-year prison sentence in Bukan Prison |
| 8 | Hashem Moradi | Piranshahr | 9 Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 5-year prison sentence in Naqadeh Prison |
| 9 | Shorash Abdollahnezhad | Piranshahr | 13 Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 5-year prison sentence in Naqadeh Prison |
| 10 | Najmaddin Sokhanvar | Piranshahr | 13 Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 5-year prison sentence in Naqadeh Prison |
| 11 | Rahim Alizadeh | Piranshahr | 13 Feb | Civilian | Summoned & detained by Ministry of Intelligence in Piranshahr |
| 12 | Rahman Ghaderi | Piranshahr | 13 Feb | Civilian | Summoned & detained by Ministry of Intelligence in Piranshahr |
| 13 | Mohammad Ghaderpour | Piranshahr | 13 Feb | Civilian | Summoned & detained by Ministry of Intelligence in Piranshahr |
| 14 | Nasser Bayazidi | Piranshahr | 13 Feb | Civilian | Summoned & detained by Ministry of Intelligence in Piranshahr |
| 15 | Kiumars Latifi | Sanandaj | 15 Feb | Civil rights activist | Unknown |
| 16 | Kamal Abbasivand | Bukan | Mid-Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 6-year prison sentence in Bukan Prison |
| 17 | Saadi Ahmadpour | Bukan | Mid-Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 1-year prison sentence in Bukan Prison |
| 18 | Gozal Hajizadeh | Maku | 21 Feb | Mother of Kurdish political prisoner Zeynab Jalalian | Released after several hours of detention |
| 19 | Varan Mohammadnezhad | Sanandaj | 21 Feb | Member of Nozhin Association | Released after several hours of detention |
| 20 | Payam Miri | Sanandaj | 21 Feb | Member of Nozhin Association | Released after several hours of detention |
| 21 | Khezr Ghaderi-Azar | Piranshahr | 27 Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 5-year prison sentence in Naqadeh Prison |
| 22 | Esmaeil Mohammadpour | Piranshahr | 27 Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 5-year prison sentence in Naqadeh Prison |
| 23 | Shafi Mohammadnezhad | Piranshahr | 27 Feb | Civilian | Detained to serve 5-year prison sentence in Naqadeh Prison |
Prison sentences
In February, Iranian courts sentenced at least six people to prison sentences varying from two months to 28 months in prison.
In addition, an Iranian court sentenced Kurdish political prisoner Mohammad Hosseini to living eight years in internal exile in the Heris district of the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan after his release.
| Name | Resident of | Charged with | Date sentenced | Issuing court | Sentence | Explanation | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azimeh Nasseri | Bukan | Collaboration with PJAK | Early Feb | Branch 101 of Bukan Court | 2 months in prison | Environmental activist | ||||||||
| 2 | Roya Mohyeddini | Paveh | Membership in Kurdistan Democratic Party | Early Feb | Islamic Revolutionary Court of Paveh | One year in prison, 3 years ban on leaving the country | Imprisoned in Naqadeh Prison | ||||||||
| 3 | Mohammad Hosseini | Naqadeh | Membership in KDPI | 7 Feb | Branch 1 of Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad | 8-year life in exile in Heris, East Azerbaijan province | Imprisoned in Naqadeh Prison | ||||||||
| 4 | Ebrahim Tari-Moradi | Sanandaj | Membership in KDPI and propaganda against the state | Early Feb | Branch 1 of Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj | One year in prison, payment of 1,200 USD fine | |||||||||
| 5 | Kamran Takouk | Kermanshah | Propaganda against the state and insulting the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran | 21 Feb | Branch 1 of Islamic Revolutionary Court of Kermanshah | 28 months in prison | 16 months of the sentence enforcable | ||||||||
| 6 | Hossein Rahmani | Javanrud | Membership in KDPI and acting against national security | Late Feb | Islamic Revolutionary Court of Naqadeh | 3 months in prison, 6-months suspended prison sentence | Released on bail | ||||||||
| 7 | Azhin Rahmani | Sanandaj | Membership in KDPI and illegal exit from country | Late Feb | Branch 102 of Criminal Court of Baneh | One year in prison | Commuted to suspended sentence by a court of appeals |
Kurdish activist went on hunger strike in prison
In the past month, Kurdish activist Mohammad Houshangi, who has been detained since 10 January 2021, went on a hunger strike in Orumiyeh Central Prison on 23 February.
On 26 February, prison authorities transferred Houshangi to solitary confinement.
The activist is protesting against his long detention and the objection of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to his temporary release despite the payment of bail by his family for his release.
