The “Week in brief” by Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) is a weekly review of the most important human rights news and developments from and about Iran’s Kurdish areas.
Iran sentences Kurdish student protester to five years in prison
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh has sentenced a Kurdish student to five years in prison on charges of actions against the country’s national security for having taken part in recent protests.
The Kurdish student, Ibrahim Khalidi, who is from the Kurdish Sardasht area, was found guilty of actions against the state at a trial headed by judge Sheikhloo on 26 January.
The student has also been accused for blasphemy against the Islamic prophet and according to Article 262 of the Islamic Penal Code,the punishment for insulting Prophet Muhammad is death.
The death sentence can be reduced to 74 lashes per Article 264 of the same code if the defendant confesses to the court that insult was made due o anger, by mistake or by having quoted a reference.
http://kurdistanhumanrights.net/en/a-kurdish-student-sentenced-to-five-years-of-imprisonment-in-orumiyeh/
Yarsani activist remains missing two months after arrest in Iran
Concerns are growing over the fate of a Yarsani activist, Seyyd Peyman Pedrood, who has been missing two months after his alleged arrest in Iran.
His fate has remained unknown despite relentless effort by his family to find out for what and where he has since been held against his will.
Pedrood was resident of Mehr Shar in Iran’s Karaj and went missing after he left his home on 29 December.
An unofficial source has said that the Iranian security forces had arrested him after he had left home.
Iranian security forces had previously arrested him for his activism promoting and supporting equal rights for thethe adherents of Yarsanism religion, also known as Ahel-e-Haq, a minority in Iran.
Those part of this religious minority, estimated to number hundreds of thousands, are known to face systematic discrimination because the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognise their religion.
http://kurdistanhumanrights.net/en/concern-over-fate-of-a-yarsani-detainee-in-karaj/
Supreme Court to review Kurdish political prisoner’s death penalty
The case of a Kurdish political prisoner, Ramin Hussein Panahim, who was recently sentenced to death by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, has been sent to the Supreme Court in Iran.
A source said the Kurdish prisoner’s family members and lawyer were informed that the case was been sent to the Supreme Court after the authorities witnessed protests against the death sentence.
Ramin was wounded and arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Sanandaj in June.
HE was taken to an IRGC Intelligence detention centre and later transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison after he was detained there for some 200 days.
According to his family, his health has deteriorated due to torture and medical negligence during his time spent in solitary confinement jails.
He is suffering from kidney illness and has been in poor physical health but denied the right to medical treatment in prion.
http://kurdistanhumanrights.net/en/ramin-hossein-panahis-case-sent-to-supreme-court-brabch-37-based-in-qom/
