Following the pressure from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence on Kurdish political and civil activists, 6 media and environmental activists from Mahabad were summoned by this security agency and released after several hours of interrogation.
“On Saturday, December 29, six media activists and environmental activists of Mahabad, Herman Vatmani, editor-in-chief of the Tahlil-e-Haje, Pola Axaz and Pejman Ismailnejad, reporters of the afore-mentioned news site, Pexshan Qalandari, the director of the environmental association known as Sabz Andishan in Mahabad, Faryad Rash Ahmadi and Seyyed Hassan Sayed Hadi, were summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence office in Mahabad and interrogated for several hours.” A reliable source in Mahabad, told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
According to this source, despite the release of these individuals after the interrogation, their mobile phones have been temporarily confiscated for further investigations.
“These activists were interrogated and threatened with regard to publication of some of their posts on social networks, the source added.
It should be noted that from the beginning of the fall, the Ministry of Intelligence Offices in various cities of Kurdistan have questioned more than 20 media, civil and political activists about the materials they have posted on social networks. These activists have been also forced to sign an affidavit to promise that they would avoid publishing any further such materials which the security agency regards as propaganda against the state.
