Seven Kurdish citizens were arrested in western Iranian cities in recent days.
Over the past few weeks, a number of Kurdish citizens and activists have been arrested in western Iranian cities, and in the wake of these arrests, five other Kurdish citizens have been arrested in recent days in the cities of Urmia, Shahin Dej, Takab, and Sanandaj.
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, in recent days, five Kurdish citizens named "Ramazan Soltanian", "Jalal Surman", "Rahim Ahmadpour", "Amir Tapora", and "Bahman Khosravi" were arrested by security forces.
According to this report, on July 14, "Rahim Ahmadpour" and "Amir Tapora", two citizens living in the village of Ghazanli in Shahindej, and "Bahman Khosravi", a resident of Takab, were arrested by security forces and taken to an unknown location.
Also, on July 12, Jalal Surman, from the Targhevur region, was arrested by the Urmia Intelligence Department forces and transferred to the city's Intelligence Department detention center.
On July 5, "Ramadan Soltanian," whose two children are said to be members of a Kurdish opposition party, was arrested by agents of the Sanandaj Intelligence Department at his private home and transferred to the security agency's central detention center.
According to available information, Mr. Soltanian has been summoned to the Sanandaj Intelligence Department's news headquarters several times over the past years and pressured to return his children.
Previously, eight Kurdish citizens were arrested by the intelligence forces of their respective cities of residence on charges of "collaborating with one of the Kurdish opposition parties to the Iranian government."
In a report last month, Amnesty International called 2018 the Islamic Republic's "year of shame" and announced that more than seven thousand people, including participants in demonstrations, students, journalists, women's rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and ethnic and religious minority rights activists, have been arrested in Iran this year.
Source: Voice of America
