A young Kurdish man arrested by Iranian police on “drug-related” charges in Tehran on 7 April, has lost his life suspiciously in a police detention centre. The family of the 25-year-old Milad Jafari, from Kermanshah in western Iran, claimed that their son had lost his life due to “torture”. “Milad Jafari was violently arrested by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department on 7 April, along with…
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The body of an Iranian Kurdish political activist named Ahmad Bigham has been found dead at his house in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on 1 January. Bigham’s relatives consider his death “suspicious” due to the signs of torture on his body. Erbil police have not yet made an official statement on the matter. The autopsy results will be announced in the next 20 days. In an…
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Officers in Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary have beaten to death a 23-year-old civilian named Amir Hossein Hatami on 22 September after he spent about ten days in the prison. The families and relatives of the civilian, who comes from Ilam province, gathered in front of the prison on 25 September, demanding that the prison authorities be held accountable for Hatami’s death. However, so far, the authorities…
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A Kurdish civilian named Rahman Ahmadian has lost his life in the detention centre of the Intelligence and Public Security Police (PAVA) in Orumiyeh. Ahmadian, who comes from the Sir Heydarlu village of Orumiyeh, was arrested on 12 July along with five other residents of the village. A relative of Ahmadian told the KHRN that security police contacted his family on 18 July and said he…
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Prisoner Hadi Rostami, who is sentenced to amputation of four fingers of his right hand, has been transferred from Orumiyeh Central Prison to Bukan Prison, sources told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). Rostami was transferred from the security ward of Orumiyeh Central Prison to the quarantine ward of Bukan Prison by law enforcement forces on Thursday, 18 February, and was beaten by officers of…
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Iran has flogged prisoner Hadi Rostami 60 times on 14 February for “disrupting prison order” in Orumiyeh Prison. Execution of this inhuman sentence given nearly five months earlier, has taken place in Branch 8 of the Enforcement of Judgements Office in Orumiyeh. It was carried out at a time that Hadi Rostami, who is also sentenced to amputation of four fingers of his right hand, was…
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A young man sentenced to amputation of his fingers by Iran has attempted to commit suicide twice in Orumiyeh Central Prison, in the past two months. Hadi Rostami, a prisoner sentenced to “amputation of four fingers of his right hand” on the charge of “theft” has twice committed suicide by eating glass to protest his detention in the security ward of Orumiyeh Central Prison and…
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A prisoners, sentenced to execution on the charge of “premeditated murder”,” was hanged at Mahabad prison on December 7, local informed sources told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).Kamal Asghari, 23, from Mahabad was arrested 3 years ago on charges of premeditated murder and sentenced to “retribution”(execution). This prisoner from Mahabad was arrested in September 2017 along with Daniel Diwani, Azar and Daniel Zein al-Abedin on…
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The Iranian authorities must immediately halt imminent plans to amputate the fingers of six men convicted of robbery following unfair trials and torture-tainted “confessions”, said Amnesty International in a detailed analysis released today. On Nov 27, 2020, a source familiar with the case of Hadi Rostami informed the Kurdistan Human Rights Network that “Hadi Rostami” and two other prisoners known as “Mehdi Sharafian” and “Mehdi Shahivand”…
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In its monthly reports, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) highlights cases of human rights violations in Kurdistan and violations of the rights of Kurdish civilians in different regions and cities across Iran.
This report includes all cases recorded and reported by KHRN from across Iran through its own sources and verification mechanisms from 1 March to 31 March.
The restrictive environment for independent human rights organisations in Iran, coupled with the pressures faced by individuals subjected to human rights violations and their families, make it difficult to publish accurate and comprehensive reports.
It is therefore important to note that the statistics and information presented in this report do not cover all cases of human rights violations. This report is the result of examining news and reports published by the KHRN and fact-checking of reports published by other human rights organisations and news websites.
Executions
According to KHRN’s findings, Iran executed at least four prisoner in March for “premeditated murder”.
Two of the prisoners were executed in Mahabad Prison, in West Azerbaijan Province, and two in Ilam Central Prison.
*Explanation: The KHRN, recognizing the fundamental right to life, publishes and records news and execution statistics without regard to the ethnic background of individuals and the location of the execution. All cases reported to the organisation by credible sources are published after thorough fact-checking.
Femicide
In the first half of March, three women were killed by their male family members in Orumiyeh and Kermanshah.
Landmine explosions
In March, landmine explosions resulted in injuries to four people, including two kolbars, in Mehran in Ilam Province, Paveh in Kermanshah Province, and Marivan in Kurdistan Province.
Kolbars and tradesmen
In March, at least five kolbars were shot dead by Iranian border guards, two died of frostbite, two died as a result of falling from the border heights, one was tortured to death by Iranian security forces, one died of a heart attack, one died in a road accident and another died as a result of the overturning of a car chased by police.
A total of 60 kolbars were injured during this period. Of these, 38 were shot by Iranian border guards, nine fell from heights at the border, four were injured in landmine explosions, three were beaten by border guards, two were beaten by Iraqi border guards, two were injured in road accidents, one was injured by stones thrown by border guards, and one was injured in a car that fell from heights at the border.
The identities of three of the kolbars injured in falls from border heights remain unknown and are therefore not included in the table in this report.
Detentions and arrests
Throughout March, Iranian forces arrested at least 20 civilians, including a child and two artists.
At least four of the detained civilians were sent to prisons in Marivan, Saqqez, Naqadeh, and Ilam to serve prison sentences.
Sentences
In the past month, Iranian courts have sentenced at least four people to punishments ranging from three months to 13 years in prison.
Security forces wound two young men
On 21 March, security forces attacked a group of young people in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, for playing music and having fun. As a result of the forces’ shooting, two Kurdish youths, Mohammad Ahmadian and Arman Basiri, were seriously injured in the leg.
The incident took place in the Eastern Park near the historical site of Tagh-e Bostan.