Afshin Hussein Panahi, a Kurdish activist detainee, was sentenced to eight and a half years of imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj on charges of propaganda against the regime and cooperating with one of the Kurdish parties.
“On the afternoon of Oct 25, 2017, the court hearing for Afshin, Ahmad and Zubair Hussein Panahi was held at Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj headed by Judge Saeedi. It is noteworthy that none of the afore-mentioned detainees had the right to have a lawyer. The verdict shown by a family member states that Afshin Hussein Panahi has been sentenced to 8 and a half years of imprisonment on charges of propaganda against the regime by holding Nowruz ceremony in the village of Qooro Chai (Dehgolan) and cooperating with one of the Kurdish parties.” A member of Hussein Panahi’s family said told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
“The sentence issued for Afshin Panahi is really heavy and his family was expecting him to be acquitted of the charges.”, the source added.
According to Hussein Panahi’s brother, Ramin is currently being detained at the intelligent Detention Centre of Sanandaj. Despite referring to this office 23 times, Ramin’s family still have no news about his fate.
“Several Kurdish lawyers have stated that they are prepared to represent Ramin Hussein Panahi while formally applying to the Revolutionary Court as lawyers to represent him. However, the court has refused to grant him permission to have a lawyer,” he added.
Ramin Hossein Panahi is a political activist and member of the Komala Party. On Friday, June 22, Ramin was wounded and arrested by the Revolutionary Guards following the clashes between the IRGC forces and members of Komala in Sanandaj. Later the IRGC forces raided his father’s house and arrested some of his family members.
Following the arrest of Ramin Hussein Panahi, his brother called Afshin Hussein Panahi was also arrested on the same day while Anwar Hossein Panahi (their other brother) was also arrested on June 25, 2017. Moreover, some of their relatives including Zubair, Ahmad, Abbas and Keywan Hussein Panahi were also arrested by security forces.
Two days after being arrested and transferred to Tehran, security forces released Anwar Hossein Panahi on the condition that he would not return to Kurdistan. Moreover, Zubair, Ahmed and Keywan Hussein Panahi were temporarily released.
On 26 and 27 of August, Abbas Hossein Panahi was temporarily released on a bail of 150 million Tomans but Afshin Hussein Panahi was transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison from Sanandaj Intelligence Detention Centre of Sanandaj.
It is worth noting that Afshin Hussein Panahi, who has a history of cooperation with environmental NGO’s, has previously spent a year in jail on charges of “propaganda against the regime while the suspicious death of his brother (Ashraf Hussein Panahi) was investigated.
