Kurdistan Human Rights Network

Kurdish prisoners of conscience Arash Gholizadeh and Ardavan Tahourian, who have separately gone on hunger strike in Orumiyeh Central Prison, in West Azerbaijan Province, are demanding access to medical treatment and the right to temporary leave. Gholizadeh, a Kurdish religious prisoner from Orumiyeh, who is in the third year of a 10-year sentence, began his hunger strike on 15 March, in protest at being denied...

Hassan Omarpour, a Kurdish prisoner serving a 10-year sentence in Orumiyeh Central Prison, began a hunger strike on 14 April to demand a retrial and to protest insults against his family by the prosecutor of Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Omarpour was transferred to solitary confinement on 15 April following the start of his hunger strike and...

Kurdish political prisoner Kamran Ghassemi temporarily ended his hunger strike on 14 March after officials at Orumiyeh Central Prison in West Azerbaijan Province agreed to consider his demands. Ghassemi began the strike on 5 March in protest at the refusal of prison officials and the Ministry of Intelligence to grant him leave and conditional release. After announcing his hunger strike, Ghassemi was placed in solitary confinement...

Kurdish political prisoner Kamran Ghassemi has entered the eighth day of his hunger strike in solitary confinement in Orumiyeh Central Prison, West Azerbaijan Province, in protest at the refusal of prison officials and the Ministry of Intelligence to grant him leave and conditional release. Ghassemi was transferred to solitary confinement after announcing his hunger strike on 5 March and has since been denied the right...

Mohammad Khodkam, a prisoner from Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, is in critical condition as he continues his hunger strike in protest at a harsh prison sentence and fine imposed on him last December. The situation has prompted warnings from prison doctors about the dire state of his health. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Khodkam, who began his hunger strike on 23...

Hadi Rostami, a prisoner sentenced to amputation, began a dry hunger strike after being severely beaten by prison officials and transferred to solitary confinement in Orumiyeh Central Prison on 5 February. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that a delegation led by the Chief Justice of West Azerbaijan Province and several judges from Orumiyeh visited the prison to address the prisoners' concerns, and...

Kurdish political prisoners Motalleb Ahmadian and Sakineh Parvaneh have begun hunger strikes in protest at the recent execution of four Kurdish political prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Ahmadian began his hunger strike on 29 January, the same day as the execution of Pezhman Fatehi, Mohammad Faramarzi, Vafa Azarbar and Mohsen Mazloum. Despite initially planning a...

The health of Mohammad Khodkam, a prisoner from Bukan in West Azerbaijan Province, has taken a critical turn as he enters the twenty-fifth day of his hunger strike, protesting against a harsh prison sentence and fine. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Khodkam, who began his hunger strike on 23 December 2023, has twice been transferred unconscious from the quarantine ward to...

Kurdish political prisoner Abdolaziz Gol-Mohammadi is now in the 19th day of his hunger strike in the infirmary of the Orumiyeh Central Prison, West Azerbaijan Province. Despite the severity of his physical condition and the prison authorities' agreement to grant him temporary leave, the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continues to oppose his request. Since he began the hunger strike, Gol-Mohammadi has...