Seven Kurdish Citizens Arrested in Western Iranian Cities in Recent Days

Over the past weeks, a number of Kurdish citizens and activists have been arrested in western Iranian cities, and in continuation of these arrests, five more Kurdish citizens were recently arrested in the cities of Urmia, Shahin Dez, Takab, and Sanandaj.

According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, in recent days five Kurdish citizens named “Ramadan Soltanyan,” “Jalal Sourman,” “Rahim Ahmadpour,” “Amir Tapora,” and “Bahman Khosravi” were arrested by security forces.

Based on this report, on July 24th, “Rahim Ahmadpour” and “Amir Tapora,” two residents of Qazan village in Shahin Dez, and “Bahman Khosravi” from Takab were arrested by security forces and transferred to an unknown location.

Also, on July 22nd, “Jalal Sourman” from the Targavaur region was arrested by the Urmia Intelligence Department forces and transferred to the detention center of this department.

On July 15th, “Ramadan Soltanyan,” whose two sons are reportedly members of a Kurdish opposition party, was arrested by the Sanandaj Intelligence Department officials at his home and transferred to the central detention facility of this security agency.

According to available information, Mr. Soltanyan has been summoned repeatedly to the news headquarters of the Sanandaj Intelligence Department over the past years and has been pressured to return his sons.

Previously, eight Kurdish citizens were arrested by the intelligence department forces of their respective cities on charges of “cooperation with one of the Kurdish opposition parties to the Iranian government.”

AmnestyInternational named last February 2018 a “year of shame” for the Islamic Republic and announced that in that year more than seven thousand people, including protest participants, students, journalists, women’s rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and national and religious minority rights activists, were arrested in Iran.

Source: Voice of America