ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian security forces detained a young Kurdish media and language activist and transferred him to an unknown location, according to a Kurdish rights group, as Iran intensifies its crackdown on civilians in a series of sweeping arbitrary detentions.
Abed Alizadeh, a resident of Sharifabad residential neighborhood of the city of Takab in West Azerbaijan Province, was arbitrarily arrested by authorities through a judicial warrant at 8 pm local time on Wednesday, a source told Kurdish human rights group, Kurdpa.
According to Kurdpa, Alizadeh had used social media to support public protests over rising prices, criticize the portrayal of protesters as enemies, and promote Kurdish language, culture and Kurdish studies, as well as discuss broader social issues.
Alizadeh is married. In a recently published video from his wedding ceremony, he said he and his wife had held a simple ceremony without celebrations in respect of people who had been killed in recent events, expressing hope for better days for Iranians.
The detention follows a precedent of Iranian authorities targeting Kurdish cultural and language activists, which have intensified in scope following nationwide January protests and the US-Iran war in late February, and reflects a pattern of arrests and prosecutions against members of civil society, activists and protestors in what has been described by rights groups as a broader crackdown on the freedom of speech.
In July, a Tehran appellate court upheld a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence against Kurdish language teacher, writer and director Sajad Haeri on charges of “propaganda against the state” and “disturbing public opinion through publishing false information,” also banned from political party membership and cyberspace activity for two years, the rights group reported.
In June, Iranian authorities detained Kurdish civil activist Mohammad Rezaei, a member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association advocating for Kurdish linguistic and cultural rights in Sanandaj, after summoning him to court to serve a one-year sentence for “propaganda against the state.”
In March, Kurdish writer and cultural activist Moslem Zarei, was detained in Kermanshah in March and transferred to an undisclosed location. His reasons for detention and possible charges have not been publicly disclosed.
In a February report, Hengaw said Iranian authorities arrested at least 15 Kurdish activists involved in mother-tongue education during 2025 and issued prison sentences totaling 26 years and 10 months against four activists, along with four years of suspended sentences.
Despite Iran’s constitutional recognition of the use and teaching of local languages alongside Persian under Article 15, Persian remains the sole language of instruction in primary and secondary schools, including in Kurdish-majority areas, according to rights groups.
