Iran
From left: Raouf Farrokhi, Vahab Mohammadpour, Rahim Rahmani, Sirwan Shawleh. Photo: Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN)
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities have arrested four Kurds in separate incidents across west Iran's Kurdish regions (Rojhelat) over the past two days, a Paris-based Kurdish human rights monitor reported on Thursday, saying the detentions were carried out without legal warrants.
The four people were arrested in West Azerbaijan province and were identified as Raouf Farrokhi, Vahab Mohammadpour, and Rahim Rahmani from Piranshahr, and Sirwan Shawleh from Mahabad, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
The arrests were made in the early hours of Wednesday and Thursday in raids carried out by Ministry of Intelligence agents.
"Shawleh had previously been summoned for interrogation at the Ministry’s office in Mahabad on 5 February, where she was threatened," according to KHRN. "Her husband, Jalal Sadafi, has been held in Mahabad Prison in a state of uncertainty since his arrest by the same agency on 15 December 2024."
She was arrested at her home at dawn, said Hengaw, a Norwegian-based human group monitoring human rights abuses in Iran. The charges against her have not been made public.
Farrokhi and Rahmani have been transferred to a detention facility in Urmia, according to Hengaw, which said that intelligence forces used drones as an intimidation factor while carrying out the arrests.
Mohammadpour had previously been arrested during the nationwide 2022 protests in Piranshahr, and was released from Naqadeh Prison on bail after three months.
Iranian authorities frequently arrest Kurds in connection with political activism and protests. Many of the arrests occur without due process and detainees face arbitrary detention and lack of legal representation.
These arrests intensified following the 2022 death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini—a Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in custody after being detained by the morality police for allegedly wearing a lax hijab. Amini’s death sparked the most intense nationwide protests Iran has seen in decades.
Iranian security forces have arrested 10 Kurdish citizens in Bukan, Piranshahr, Mahabad, and Kamyaran over the past three days, according to figures collected by the KHRN.
On Sunday, the Supreme Court of Iran overturned death sentences issued against five Kurdish political prisoners, who were detained for their involvement in the 2022 protests. The charges brought against them included “baghi” (armed rebellion against the state), “moharebeh” (enmity against God), and “leadership and formation of a rebel criminal group.”
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