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 September 2021.
The followings are the detailed information collected by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) statistics and documentation centre regarding these violations.
Executions
In September, Iran executed 52-year-old prisoner Arshad Javdat in Zanjan Prison.
Javdat, who was from Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province, was sentenced to death over drug-related charges.
This is the only case on which the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has been informed of through its sources. But the number of those executed is likely to be higher.
| Name | From | Charged with | Execution date | Execution location | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arshad Javdat | Orumiyeh | Drugs | 21 Sept | Zanjan Prison | 52-year-old, father of three |
Femicide
Statistics suggest that at least one woman was a victim of femicide in Iranian Kurdistan in the past month.
A young woman named Marzieh Haaseli’s body was found burnt after she was killed in Ravansar, Kermanshah province.
| Name | Location | Date | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marzieh Haaseli | Ravansar | 24 Sept | Killer/killers burnt her body after killing her |
Kolbars
In September, at least 14 Kurdish civilians either died or were injured working as kolbars.
Iranian border forces shot at least eight of these kolbars in the country’s western borders, five of whom lost their lives while three were wounded.
Additionally, one kolbar lost his life due to a heart attack, and two died falling from mountain heights after running from border forces.
Also, on 20 September, the Turkish army killed two Kurdish kolbars named Sozdar Ahmadi and Alishan Ahmadi in the border area between Turkey and Iran’s Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province.
The two kolbars lost their lives after a Turkish drone strike targeted a group of kolbars.
Another kolbar was injured falling from mountain heights.
| Name | From | Incident location | Incident date | Dead/Injured | Explanations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohammad Khaled Abdollahzadeh | Piranshahr | Haji Omaran border heights | 5 Sept | Dead | Shot by border forces, 41-year-old, father of two |
| 2 | Sadigh Takabi | Saqqez | Barvishkani border | 6 Sept | Injured | Shot by border forces, 55-year-old, from Saqqez |
| 3 | Khabar Sadeghi | Saqqez | Barvishkani border | 6 Sept | Injured | Shot by border forces, 20-year-old, from Darvian-e Olya village in Saqqez |
| 4 | Hossein Selkani | Shabankare village Ravansar | Nowsud border heights | 7 Sept | Injured | Fall from mountain heights |
| 5 | Sirvan Golzari | Jashniabad village | Marivan border areas | 8 Sept | Dead | Shot by border forces, civilian not carrying goods |
| 6 | Rasoul Karimi | Baneh | Baneh border areas | 12 Sept | Dead | Shot by border forces, 33 years old |
| 7 | Mohammad Amin Ghaderi | Baneh | Baneh border areas | 16 Sept | Dead | Shot by border forces, father of a child |
| 8 | Shokat Ghorbani | Dezavar village Nowdeshah | Dezavar village | 17 Sept | Dead | Heart attack following chase and run |
| 9 | Omid Mohammadzadeh | Rabat | Dulehbi border Sardasht | 18 Sept | Dead | Shot by border forces, 39 years old, father of three |
| 10 | Alishan Heydari | Kuran village | Orumiyeh border areas | 20 Sept | Dead | Targeted by Turkish drone strike, 18 years old |
| 11 | Sozdar Ahmadi | Kuran village | Orumiyeh border areas | 20 Sept | Dead | Targeted by Turkish drone strike, 21 years old |
| 12 | Borhan Yousefi | Babajani | Nowsud border areas | 20 Sept | Injured | Shot by border forces |
| 13 | Sarkawt Karimi | Javanrud | Nowsud border areas | 27 Sept | Injured | Fell from mountain heights while being chased by border forces |
| 14 | Masoud | Javanrud | Nowsud border areas | 27 Sept | Injured | Fell from mountain heights while being chased by border forces |
Work Accidents
Throughout the past month, at least six Kurdish workers from Iranian Kurdistan lost their lives in work accidents.
One of these incidents took place in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Due to the high unemployment rate in the cities of Iranian Kurdistan, every year, a large number of Kurdish citizens of Iran are forced to migrate to other cities of the country and Iraqi Kurdistan in search of job opportunities.
| Name | Incident location | Incident date | Dead/injured | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iraj Rahimpour | Nowsud | 7 Sept | Dead | Fell from building |
| 2 | Rahman Souri | Chour village of Marivan | 12 Sept | Dead | Tractor overturned during work in agriculture |
| 3 | Veysi Kardar | Iraqi Kurdistan | 19 Sept | Dead | Fell from building, 33-year-old |
| 4 | Karim Karimi | Baneh | 20 Sept | Dead | Fell from walnut tree |
| 5 | Yaghoub Patini | Mahabad | 26 Sept | Dead | Fell from scaffold |
| 6 | Mohammad Razgi | Ghabr-e Hossein village in Piranshahr | 28 Sept | Dead | Fell from walnut tree |
Detentions and Arrests
In September, Iranian security forces detained at least 12 civilians and four activists in various cities throughout Iranian Kurdistan.
Additionally, on 19 September, security forces arrested Kurdish artist Loghman Pir-Khezranian in Tehran.
The artist was taken to the capital city’s Evin Prison to serve a nine-month sentence.
| Name | Detention location | Detention date | Activity | Detention location and latest status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asad Ramin | Qarna village | 1 Sept | Civilian | Unknown |
| 2 | Khaled Ramin | Qarna village | 1 Sept | Civilian | Unknown |
| 3 | Ramin Ramin | Qarna village | 1 Sept | Civilian | Taken to Naqadeh prison |
| 4 | Sardar Ramin | Qarna village | 1 Sept | Civilian | Taken to Naqadeh prison |
| 5 | Davoud Rahimi | Joghol-e Sofla village | 1 Sept | Civilian | Unknown |
| 6 | Mohammad Fardani | Mirabad Sardasht | 7 Sept | Civilian | Unknown, 15 years old |
| 7 | Behrouz Azizi | Mirab village Sanandaj | 7 Sept | Civilian | Unknown |
| 8 | Rasoul Azizian | Mirab village Sanandaj | 7 Sept | Civilian | Unknown |
| 9 | Masoud Rezai | Sanandaj | 11 Sept | Civilian | Detained to serve 6-months sentence |
| 10 | Anvar Rasouli | Bowalhasan village | 15 Sept | Civilian | Unknown |
| 11 | Hossein Ghodrati | Oshnavieh | 19 Sept | Civilian | Unknown |
| 12 | Loghman Pir-Khezranian | Tehran | 19 Sept | Artist | Detained to serve 9-months sentence, taken to Evin prison in Tehran |
| 13 | Behzad Talayi | Orumiyeh | Late Sept | Civilian | Detained to serve 13-months sentence, taken to Orumiye prison |
| 14 | Behnam Khosropanah | Divandarreh | Late Sept | Telegram activist | Unknown |
| 15 | Salah Hosseinpanah | Baneh | 22 Sept | Environmental activist | Taken to detention centre of Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj |
| 16 | Arman Asadi | Divandarreh | 26 Sept | Civil activist | Taken to detention centre of Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj |
| 17 | Salar Salehi | Sanandaj | 27 Sept | Environmental activist | Taken to Shahramfar detention centre of Intelligence Organisation of IRGC |
Prison Sentences
In the past month, Iranian courts sentenced at least seven people to prison sentences varying from two months to seven years in prison.
Six of these sentences were given for the vague charge of “propaganda against the state”.
Separately, the country’s Supreme Court in Qom upheld the death sentence of Kurdish political prisoner Shaker Behrouz.
Behrouz was charged with allegedly “killing a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)”.
| Name | Resident of | Charged with | Date sentenced | Issuing court | Sentence | Explanations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jalal Vafaei | Bukan | Propaganda against the state | Early Sept | Branch 101 of Criminal Court | Five years in prison | |
| 2 | Sherko Tabnak | Bukan | Propaganda against the state | Early Sept | Branch 101 of Criminal Court | Five years in prison and 7 years suspended prison sentence | |
| 3 | Saeid Fathinezhad | Mahabad | Membership in a Kurdish opposition party, passing border illegally | Early Sept | Branch 1 of Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad | 51 months in prison | Three years and seven months applicable |
| 4 | Ali Zolfi | Bukan | Propaganda against the state | Early Sept | Branch 101 of Criminal Court | Four months and ten days in prison | |
| 5 | Soran Sharifi | Bukan | Propaganda against the state, membership in Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) | 11 Sept | Branch 101 of Criminal Court | Seven years in prison | |
| 6 | Shaker Behrouz | Orumiyeh | Killing a member of IRGC | 28 Sept | Branch 31 of Supreme Court in Qom | Death sentence upheld in Supreme Court | Previously sentenced to retribution in kind (qisas) for premeditated murder by Orumiyeh Criminal Court |
| 7 | Nawshirvan Rezaei | Marivan | Propaganda against the state | Late Sept | Sanandaj Court of Appeals | Two months in prison, two month suspended prison sentence | Islamic Revolutionary Court of Marivan previously sentenced him to 4 months in prison |
| 8 | Peyman Tabarkhoun | Marivan | Propaganda against the state | Late Sept | Sanandaj Court of Appeals | Two months in prison, two month suspended prison sentence | Islamic Revolutionary Court of Marivan previously sentenced him to 4 months in prison |
Prison Officers Tortured, Killed Young Man
On 22 September, officers in Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary beat to death Amir Hossein Hatami, a 23-year-old civilian from Ilam, after he spent about ten days in the prison.
On 25 September, Hatami’s relatives gathered before the prison, demanding that prison authorities be held accountable for his death.
IRGC Confirmed holding PJAK Member in Detention
On 28 September, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) published a report saying it had obtained information that Edrish Faghihi, a member of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), previously reported to have lost his life in a clash with the IRGC, was detained wounded.
Later, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that it held Faghihi at its al-Mahdi base in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province.
Previous reports had stated that the PJAK member was killed during a clash between the PJAK and IRGC forces in Bukan, West Azerbaijan province, on 24 July.
Prisoners of Conscience Refused Prison Meals
On 22 September, all 43 political and religious prisoners detained in Ward 10 of Orumiyeh Central Prison refused to receive their meals, protesting against the prison classification council’s opposition to transfer ill prisoners to a hospital outside the prison.
After one day, they ended their strike as prison authorities promised to meet their demands.
IRGC Threatened, Attacked Kurdish Parties in Iraqi Kurdistan
On 6 September, one of the commanders of the IRGC threatened Iranian Kurdish opposition parties based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq with a military attack.
On 9 September, the IRGC forces targeted the border areas of Iraqi Kurdistan with airstrikes and artillery bombings.
Although there have been no casualties so far, the IRGC has announced that the attacks will continue.
Ministry of Intelligence said it killed a Kurdish Civilian
On 12 September, the Iranian intelligence ministry in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province, told in a phone call to the Kurdish civilian Yasser Mangouri’s family that their forces shot and killed him during his detention on 17 July.
Turkey Deported Nine Iranian Kurdish Asylum Seekers to Northern Syria
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported on 15 September that Turkish police detained nine Iranian Kurdish asylum seekers and 57 others from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq near Istanbul on 21 August.
On 24 August, the report said, authorities deported the civilians to Syria’s northwestern Azaz, raising concerns about their fate.
The nine asylum seekers had legally entered Turkey from Iran and were trying to reach Europe by boat.
Reportedly, the names of these individuals are Damavand Pak-Seresht, Mobin Valad-Beygi, Afshar Rostami, Bahman Shadravan, Masoud Heydari, Saeid Ahmadi, Fardin Darvishpour, Hedayat Rokhzadi, and Arman Rashidi-Hossein.
