Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN): On Wednesday evening, Apr 24, 2019 security forces transferred a number of Kurdish environmental activists and Kurdish members of the National Unity Party from the Ministry of Intelligence Detention Centre in Sanandaj to Kamyaran and filmed them for a television documentary.

“Following a clash between the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the gunmen of one of the Kurdish opposition parties on Wednesday night at Shahu Mountains, a number of Kurdish activists were transferred to the place where the Red Crescent ambulance driver “Kohsar Fatehi” was killed by unknown people. The detained Kurdish activists were blindfolded, handcuffed and Leg-cuffed before being transferred to the afore-mentioned location where they were filmed.”, a reliable source in Kamyaran told KHRN.

According to this source, the security forces had blocked the filming site and did not allow local people to approach there. “Clearly several people were being interviewed while being surrounded by the security forces who were trying to show that these people were killers of the Red Crescent driver’s killer.”, the source said.

The new Director General of the Kurdistan Provincial Intelligence Bureau told reporters on Wednesday, Apr 17, 2019 that some environmental activists and members of the Kurdistan branch of the National Unity Party had been arrested in an attempt to “prevent the terrorist acts under the name of the parties of the province”. He claimed that these recent arrests had been made with respect to the killing of “Kohsar Fatehi”.

KHRN has previously expressed serious concerns over the pressure on these arrested activists for televised confessions.

Over the past few months, nearly 20 environmental activists and members of the Kurdistan branch of the National Unity Party have been arrested by security forces in Kamyaran, Marivan, and Sanandaj. Some of them were released on bail during the past month, but others are still detained. Idris Mohammadi and Awat Karami are held at the detention center of IRGC Intelligence Bureau while Hossein Kamangar, Farhad Mohammadi, Farzad Hosseini , Rashed Montazeri, Isa Feizi, Sirwan Ghorbani, Hadi Kamangar and Jalal Rostami are held at the Ministry of Intelligence Detention Centre in Sanandaj.