Civil Activists in Sanandaj Rally in Support of Zahra Mohammadi

Civil activists in Sanandaj gathered in front of the city’s courthouse in support of Zahra Mohammadi, a civil activist and member of the socio-cultural organization “Nozhin”.

These civil activists and members of the “Nozhin” organization rallied in front of Sanandaj’s courthouse in recent days, coinciding with International Mother Language Day, to condemn the five-year prison sentence handed down to Zahra Mohammadi, a Kurdish language instructor.

According to videos published on social media, the peaceful gathering saw protesters holding placards in Kurdish, protesting against the prison sentence for this civil activist and the ban on teaching in the mother language.

This civil activist from Dehgolan, who spent ten years teaching Kurdish language in Sanandaj and surrounding villages, was arrested on Thursday, May 23, 2019, during a raid by Sanandaj’s Intelligence Department at her home, along with two other members of the Nozhin organization. She was temporarily released in December of that year after posting a bail of 750 million tomans pending the completion of legal proceedings.

In July of this year, Zahra Mohammadi was sentenced to ten years in prison by Branch 2 of Sanandaj’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Saidi, on charges of “forming a group with the intent to undermine national security.” The sentence was ultimately reduced to five years in prison by the Kurdistan Province Court of Appeals.

Maya Mohammadi, Zahra Mohammadi’s sister, previously told Voice of America that this member of the socio-cultural organization “Nozhin” was sentenced to prison for teaching the Kurdish language to children. The Nozhin organization is one of the cultural and social organizations in Kurdistan Province that began operations in 2013 and is active in several cities in the province, including Sanandaj, Kamyaran, Dehgolan, Saghez, and Baneh.

The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned violent conduct and widespread suppression of protesters, as well as repeated and ongoing violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.

Source: Voice of America