Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN): Families of recently arrested activists of Sanandaj, Kamyaran and Marivan held a protest gathering in front of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) building in Sanandaj on Saturday morning February 24 and called for the immediate release of these people.
“This gathering was led by a group of women from the families of the detainees. The crowd demanded the authorities provide information about the fate of detainees and their release while cheering and clapping continuously.”, A source close to a detained Kurdish activist told KHRN.
According to the source, “IRGC forces repeatedly threatened to disperse the population several times, and eventually called for the end of the rally by announcing that some of the detainees will be released on bail during the coming days.”
Meanwhile, Negin Sheikholeslami Vatani, sister of Afshin Sheikholeslami Vatani who was arrested On Sunday, February 17 by security forces in Sanandaj, told KHRN that the Iranian authorities have not revealed his whereabouts despite the family’s enquiries”. She further added that “Afshin has only been able to make one phone call to the family and he himself was uncertain which branch of Intelligence agency had arrested him and where he was. Unfortunately, the judicial authorities are also not accountable to the families of detainees .”
IRGC has started a new round of detaining environmental activists and members of the Kurdistan branch of the National Unity Party in February. Meanwhile, other members of the party in Sanandaj and Kamyaran have been arrested by the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence during the current year. Although Reza Asadi and Fazel Qeitasi have now been released, 15 other Kurdish activists including Arman Vafaie, Afshin Sheikholeslami Vatani, Amanj Ghorbani, Iraj Rahimzadeh, Shaho Faraji, Farhad Mohammadi, Hossein Kamangar, Bakhtiar Kamangar, Rashed Montazeri, Farzad Hosseini, Pouria Ahmadi, Zakaria Naqshbandi, Sirwan Ghorbani, Zanyar Zemiran and Hadi Kamangar are still held in detention Centre in Sanandaj in relation to this case.
