Details of Arrest of Civil Activist in Kurdistan on Pretext of Terrorist Act
In recent days, several civil activists and environmentalists were arrested in the city of Sanandaj. While there is ambiguity about the charges and their arrests, a security official claimed that they were involved in an assassination.
Among those arrested is Farhad Mohammadi, a lawyer, who was arrested on December 12 after being summoned to the news headquarters of the Sanandaj Information Agency and transferred to the detention center of this security organization.
A source close to Farhad Mohammadi’s family told Voice of America on Wednesday, December 19, that Farhad Mohammadi was arrested after being summoned to the news headquarters of the Sanandaj Information Agency to answer some questions by security officers.
This informed source told Voice of America that after Mr. Mohammadi’s arrest, a group of security officers searched his workplace and residence, confiscating his personal belongings, including a computer, mobile phone, and several books, and took them away.
Reports indicate that Farhad Mohammadi, along with several members of the National Unity Party’s Kurdistan branch and environmentalists named Amanj Qorbani, Fazel Qitasi, Reza Asadi, Hadi Kamangar, Isa Feizi, Rashed Montazeri, Hossein Kamangar, Bakhtiar Kamangar, and Hashmatolah Yavari, have been arrested by security officers in recent days.
Previously, the political, security, and administrative deputy of the Kurdistan Governor accused these individuals of having a role in the killing of an ambulance driver in June of this year, and said that these environmental activists were arrested in the ongoing investigation to identify the ambulance driver’s killer.
This informed source told Voice of America that Farhad Mohammadi has not been allowed to visit or contact his family so far. His family was unaware of the charges brought against him, and the judicial authorities did not respond to the lawyers whom the family introduced to the Sanandaj Prosecutor’s Office to handle the case, and the family was not allowed to review the case file.
The arrest of these environmental activists in Kurdistan and the filing of security charges against them comes as last winter, eight environmental activists were arrested on charges of espionage by the Revolutionary Guard Intelligence Organization.
After months of detention, the judicial system brought the charge of “corruption on earth” against these activists. The arrest of these environmental activists was met with widespread reaction inside and outside the country, and many experts and activists called for the release of these individuals.
Source: Voice of America
