The Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s (KHRN) recent investigations have revealed numerous cases of human rights violations against Kurdish civilians and activists from Iran in July 2023.

Our Documentation and Statistics Centre has compiled a comprehensive report on the various violations perpetrated against these individuals, which we present in this monthly report.

Executions

According to these findings, Iran executed at least 12 prisoners over the past month in Orumiyeh, Kermanshah, Naqadeh, Karaj and Hamadan.

While four prisoners were executed on charges of “premeditated murder”, eight were executed for drug-related offences.

These are the executions of which the KHRN has been informed by its sources. However, the number of those executed is likely to be higher.

Femicide

On 7 July, Zilan Ayvaz, a 15-year-old girl, was shot and killed by her father, Abdolsalam Ayvaz, in the village of Ziveh in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province.

Also, on 13 July, Raheleh Rahdar was killed by her parents, on the grounds of “honour” in the Razi village of Khoy, West Azerbaijan province. After killing her, her parents claimed that she had committed suicide.

Kolbars and tradesmen

In July, at least 14 kolbars were shot by Iranian border guards in the country’s western border areas. Of these, one was killed and 13 were injured.

In addition, one kolbar was beaten by border forces and one was injured falling from a height.

Also, a 23-year-old tradesman lost his life on 23 July after falling from a height in the Qandil border of Sardasht, West Azerbaijan province.

Landmine explosions

On 24 July, a civilian, Seyyed Keyvan Seyyedpouri, was injured in a landmine explosion near an empty military base in the Garochaveh village of Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province.

Civilians killed, injured, tortured

Over the past months Iranian military forces shot dead three civilians in Kermanshah, Kermanshah province; Salmas, West Azerbaijan province; and the Kani Pasha village in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

In addition, at least four civilians were injured after they were shot by security or police forces in Paveh, Kermanshah province, and Takab, West Azerbaijan province.

Also, in the first half of July, two civilians were tortured to death in custody of the Ministry of Intelligence in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province.

Workers

On 17 July, a worker died after falling from a building in Marivan, Kurdistan province.

Another worker, Heidar Mohseni, committed suicide on 26 July after he was dismissed from his job at the Chovar Petrochemical Company in Ilam.

Detentions and arrests

Throughout July, Iranian forces arrested at least 75 civilians, including activists, a journalist, an imam and a 14-year-old child.

One of these civilians was detained to serve a three-year prison sentence in Kermanshah, Kermanshah province.

Prison sentences

Over the past month, Iranian courts have sentenced at least 17 people, mainly labour activists and relatives of victims of last year’s anti-government protests, to prison terms ranging from three months to 15 years.

At least 13 of these sentences were handed down by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province.

Assassinations

In the first two weeks of July, agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran assassinated Adel Mohajer, Loghman Aji and Siamand Shaboyi, three members of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Executions

NameFromCharged withExecution dateExecution locationExplanation
1Farshad AbdoliNoorabad, LorestanDrugs2 JulyKaraj Central Penitentiary30 years old
2Bakhtiyar CheraghiSalas-e BabajaniPremeditated murder11 JulyDizel Abad Prison, Kermanshah
3Hossein DolkhaniShawt, West AzerbaijanPremeditated murder13 JulyOrumiyeh Central Prison
4Sangar KhezriNalasDrugs17 JulyNaqadeh PrisonFather of 2 children
5Mohsen YaghoutiKangavarDrugs17 JulyHamadan Central PrisonFather of one child, executed after 6 years of imprisonment
6Hamzeh FarrokhiKangavarDrugs17 JulyHamadan Central PrisonFather of one child, executed after 6 years of imprisonment
7Ali TarkashavandKangavarDrugs17 JulyHamadan Central Prison
8Mansour SeyyediTehranDrugs18 JulyGhezelhesar Prison in KarajExecuted after spending 12 years in prison
9Moslem HavasiKuhdashtDrugs18 JulyGhezelhesar Prison in Karaj37 years old
10Siamak HayatbiniKuhdashtDrugs18 JulyGhezelhesar Prison in Karaj35 years old, executed after spending 5 years in prison
11Saeid AlmasiHarsinPremeditated murder18 JulyHamadan Central Prison41 years old, father of one child
12Habibollah IlkhaniNowdashehPremeditated murder18 JulyDizel Abad Prison, KermanshahExecuted after spending 12 years in prison

Femicide

NameLocationDateExplanation
1Zilan AyvazZiveh village of Piranshahr7 July15 years old, shot dead by father
2Raheleh RahdarRazi village in Khoy13 JulyKilled over honour by parents, who claimed she had committed suicide

Kolbars and tradesmen

NameFromIncident locationIncident dateDied/InjuredExplanation
1Hemin MahmoudiKani Resh village in Salas-e BabajaniNowsud border areas4 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
2Edris RahmaniSalas-e BabajaniNowsud border areas9 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
3Jamal (surname unknown)MarivanTata border areas in Hawraman10 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
4Younes MohammadiBazan village of JavanrudNowsud border areas10 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
5Mohammad MohammadiSatyari village in PavehNowsud border areas12 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
6Mohammad Saleh GhanbariSafa Abad village in JavanroudTata border areas in Hawraman15 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
7Ashkan (surname unknown)Darineh village in BanehHangeh-ye Zhal border area16 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
8Sasan AlizadehKalash Bakhan village in JavanroudNowsud border areas19 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
9Bashir RahmaniNowsud border areas22 JulyInjuredBeaten by border forces
10Parsa (Surname unknown)NowsudNowsud border areas22 JulyInjured17 years old, shot by border forces
11Nima RahimiNowsudNowsud border areas22 JulyInjured18 years old, shot by border forces
12Soroush EbrahimiNowsudNowsud border areas22 JulyInjured19 years old, shot by border forces
13Hossein KhalehSardashtQandil border of Sardasht23 JulyDied23-year-old tradesman, fell from border heights
14Hassan TowfighzadehSaqqezBastam border of Saqqez26 JulyKilled64 years old, father of two, shot by border forces
15Hemin KhosraviMarivanHangeh-ye Zhal border area27 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
16Rizgar MowloudzadehBanehHangeh-ye Zhal border area27 JulyInjuredShot by border forces
17Tayyeb KhosraviPavehNowsud border areas29 JulyInjuredFell from border heights

Landmine explosions

NameLocation of IncidentDate of incidentStatusExplanation
1Seyyed Keyvan SeyyedpouriGharochaveh village of Piranshahr24 JulyInjuredExplosion while grazing livestock near an abandoned military base

Civilians killed

NameLocationDateExplanation
1Qazi Mustafa AliKani Pasha village in Kurdistan Region of Iraq11 July50 years old, shot dead by IRGC forces stationed in the border area of Bamo in Salas-e Babajani, Kermanshah province, while extinguishing a fire in the border areas in Iraqi Kurdistan
2Ali NazariKermanshah26 July40 years old, shot by police at close range in the head, chest and other body parts
3Sirous Shokri ElyasiSalmas24 JulyShot during military service at IRGC base

Civilians injured

NameLocationDateExplanation
1Foad HosseiniSerias village of Paveh23 JulyShot by security forces raiding the village
2Armin NikzadTakab30 JulyShot by police during protests demanding employment
3Nasser BahramianTakab30 JulyShot by police during protests demanding employment
4Hojjat MomenzadehTakab30 JulyShot by police during protests demanding employment

Civilians tortured to death

NameLocationDateExplanation
1Musa EsmaeiliOrumiyehEarly July31-year-old father of one, tortured to death at Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh
2Peyman GalvaniOrumiyeh9 July24 years old, tortured to death at Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh

Workers

NameIncident locationIncident dateDied/InjuredExplanation
1Ata RoboushehMarivan17 JulyDiedFell from building while working
2Heidar MohseniIlam26 JulyDiedFather of two, committed suicide after being fired from Chovar Petrochemical Company

Detentions and arrests

NameDetention locationDetention dateActivityLocation held and latest status
1Ahad TaheriNaqadeh1 JulyCivilianUnknown
2Saman PashaeiSaqqez2 JulyAthleteTaken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Sanandaj
3Heidar NikniaOrumiyeh3 JulyCivilianTaken to the IRGC intelligence organisation detention center in Orumiyeh
4Aso GhalandariPiranshahr3 JulyCivilianUnknown
5Sadegh MahmoudnezhadPiranshahr3 JulyCivilianReleased from Naqadeh prison on bail
6Farid ChoudarNaqadeh4 JulyCivilianUnknown
7Shwana BabakriOshnavieh4 JulyCivilianUnknown
8Farhad EsmaeiliOrumiyeh4 JulyCivilianUnknown
9Sedigh ReyhaniSanandaj4 JulyLabour activistReleased on bail
10Shafi BabakriOshnavieh6 JulyCivilianUnknown
11Nazila MaroofianTehran8 JulyJournalistUnknown
12Edris Mohammadi-AzarPiranshahr8 JulyCivilianUnknown
13Khezr Abdollahi AmirabadOshnavieh9 JulyCivilianUnknown
14Aram ShabanOshnavieh9 JulyCivilianUnknown
15Fakhraddin PoudatOshnavieh9 JulyCivilianUnknown
16Osman HamzezadehOshnavieh9 JulyCivilianUnknown
17Abdolkarim KakoulOshnavieh9 JulyCivilianUnknown
18Soleiman SharweraniOshnavieh9 JulyCivilianUnknown
19Taha KarimiSanandaj9 JulyCivilianUnknown
20Hiwa DarkhordiPiranshahr9 JulyCivilianUnknown
21Mokhtar SharifiSanandaj10 JulyCivilianUnknown
22Omar EbrahimiPiranshahr10 JulyImamUnknown
23Yaghoub FattahiPiranshahr10 JulyCivilianUnknown
24Tayyeb AbdollahpourPiranshahr10 JulyCivilianUnknown
25Shorash EbrahimiPiranshahr10 JulyCivilianUnknown
26Edris NobakhtPiranshahr10 JulyCivilianUnknown
27Mamand GhoreishiMahabad11 JulyCivilianUnknown
28Jamal BayazidiMahabad11 JulyCivilianUnknown
29Rebwar AbdollahiSanandaj12 JulyLabour activistReleased on bail
30Yousef BakriMahabad12 JulyCivilianUnknown
31Arman NikpeyMarivan12 JulyCivilianUnknown
32Arsalan MohammadiPiranshahr13 JulyCivilianUnknown
33Shahriar FaridianIlam13 JulyCivilianUnknown
34Mohsen ShaboyiOshnavieh14 July14-year-old childUnknown
35Lalikhan NikniaOrumiyeh15 JulyCivilianUnknown
36Seyyed Mohammad Taregh HosseiniJavanrud15 JulyReligious studies studentTaken to Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah to serve a 3-year sentence
37Hakim MohammadpourBaneh16 JulyEnvironmental activistTaken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Baneh
38Reza KhoshnazarBukan16 JulyArtistUnknown
39Milad MorshediIlam16 JulyCivilianUnknown
40Bayan FarajollahiSanandaj17 JulyCivilianUnknown
41Kambiz TowhidiAbdanan22 JulyCivilianUnknown
42Asaad (Masoud) MohammadiSanandaj24 JulyCivil rights activistUnknown
43Masoud MiraeiSanandaj24 JulyCivil rights activistUnknown
44Ebrahim MiraeiSanandaj24 JulyCivil rights activistUnknown
45Hozan BabakaramiSanandaj24 JulyKurdish language teacher, activistUnknown
46Omid MazloumMahabad25 JulyCivilianUnknown
47Mohammad Hossein HaaseliAbdanan26 JulyCivilianUnknown
48Heidar GhobadiKermanshah26 JulyEulogistUnknown
49Berhudar BayramMahabad27 JulyFilmmakerReleased
50Yasser NouriJavanrud29 JulyEnvironmental activistUnknown
51Morad Rasoul TajgardounNaqadeh30 JulyCivilianArrested at the office of Ministry of Intelligence in Naqadeh
52Khalil AftabiTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
53Esmaeil TeymouriTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
54Jamal EjlaliTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
55Ramin TeymouriTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
56Zahed BahramnezhadTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
57Ahmad AftabiTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
58Abdollah AftabiTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
59Zakaria Yar-AhmadiTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
60Farhad AnoushehTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
61Khezr BahramianTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
62Payam BahramianTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
63Abdollah KhosraviTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
64Kamel KhosraviTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
65Khaled MomeniTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
66Ali MomeniTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
67Aref MomeniTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
68Mozaffar Parmoudeh Takab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
69UnknownTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
70Mohammad KhosraviTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
71Adel KhosraviTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
72Mehran KhosraviTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
73Esmaeil MoumizadehTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
74Ali Moumizadeh Takab31 JulyCivilianUnknown
75Asghar Yar-AhmadiTakab31 JulyCivilianUnknown

Prison sentences

NameResident ofCharged withDate sentencedIssuing courtSentenceExplanation
1Babak KarimiEyvan-e GharbAssembly and collusion with the intention of disrupting internal security, insulting the [supreme]leadership, insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran1 JulyBranch 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of IlamA total of 9 years of imprisonment
2Hashem SaediSanandajDisturbing public order3 JulyBranch 101 of the Criminal Court of Bukan6 months and a half imprisonment and 40 lashesFather of 16-year-old Sarina Saedi, one of the victims of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising
3Hassan AminiSanandajDisturbing public order5 JulyBranch 101 of the Criminal Court of Bukan7 months and a half imprisonment and 40 lashesBrother of Mohammad Amini, one of the victims of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising
4Farhad NavaeiMahabadAssembly and collusion to commit crimes against national securityEarly JulyCriminal Court One in Mahabad2 years imprisonmentA 16-year-old student who was arrested during the anti-government protests in Mahabad
5Abdolrahman NasriSanandajDisturbing public orderEarly JulyCriminal Court Two of Bukan6 months and a half imprisonment and 40 lashesFather of Matin Nasri, one of the victims of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising
6Arman HabibiSanandajDisturbing public orderEarly JulyCriminal Court Two of Bukan6 months and a half imprisonment and 40 lashesBrother of Aram Habibi, one of the victims of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising
7Shadman AbdiSanandajAssembly and collusion against domestic and external security, forming an illegal group with the intention of disrupting the country's securityEarly JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj3 years imprisonmentLabour activist, the sentence issued was suspended for 2 and a half years
8Kamal KarimiSanandajActing against national security through membership in one of the opposition partiesEarly JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj9 months imprisonmentLabour activist, the sentence issued was suspended for 2 years
9Khabat MahmoudiSanandajAssembly and collusion against national securityEarly JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of SanandajA year and a half in prisonLabour activist, the sentence issued was suspended for 2 years
11Soleiman AbdiSaqqezDisturbing public order and peace by participating in an illegal gathering at Aichi graveyard17 JulyBranch 105 of Saqqez Criminal Court8 months imprisonment and 70 lashesTeachers' union activist, the sentence of 8 months imprisonment was changed to 720 hours of teaching and the sentence of 70 lashes was suspended for 2 years
12Abdollah KheirabadiSanandajActing against national security19 JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj9 months imprisonmentLabour activist, the sentence issued was suspended for 2 years
13Eghbal PishkariSanandajActing against national security19 JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of SanandajOne year imprisonmentLabour activist, the sentence issued was suspended for 2 and a half years
14Eghbal ShabaniSanandajActing against national security19 JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj30 months of suspended imprisonmentLabour activist
15Habibollah KarimiSanandajActing against national security through membership in an opposition party19 JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj3 months imprisonmentLabour activist, the sentence was changed to pay 120 million rials fine
10Borhan SaeidiSanandajAssembly and collusion against national security24 JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj2 years imprisonmentLabour activist, the sentence issued was suspended for 4 years
16Mohammad Obayd HaghighianSanandajPropaganda against the systemLate JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj3 months imprisonmentThe issued sentence was changed to a fine of 400 million rials
17Ayoub JavanpourSaqqezLeading a group of more than two people inside the country with the aim of disturbing national security, insulting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, propaganda against the stateLate JulyBranch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of SaqqezA total of 15 years of imprisonment10 years of the sentence is enforceable

Assassinations

NameLocationDateExplanation
1Adel MohajerErbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq7 JulyPDKI member assassinated by agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran
2Loghman AjiQaladza, Kurdistan Region of Iraq7 JulyPDKI member assassinated by agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran
3Siamand ShaboyiQaladza, Kurdistan Region of Iraq12 JulyPDKI member assassinated by agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran