Death Threats Against Iranian Kurdish Journalist Abroad; Prison Sentence for Media Activist in Sanandaj
The Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported in recent days threats of death against an Iranian Kurdish journalist residing outside Iran, as well as the issuance of a prison and flogging sentence for a media activist in Sanandaj.
According to the human rights organization’s report, the Rawansar Intelligence Office, by summoning the brother of a female journalist residing in the Kurdistan Region, threatened him and his family with death.
Shahla Mohammadi, a journalist, told Hengaw that during her brother’s summons, intelligence office forces showed photographs of her, her spouse, and her children to her brother and disclosed information about their workplace and residence, threatening that “they would soon return their corpses.”
Ms. Mohammadi, who has been living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a political refugee since 2011 due to political activities and is engaged in media work, also stated that security agencies have repeatedly threatened her and her family over the years.
Threatening media activists and their families by the Islamic Republic’s security agencies has a long history.
In this regard, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights, following the publication of reports about the Islamic Republic’s attempts to kidnap Masih Alinejad, a journalist and political activist residing in the United States, issued a report and statement on June 27, noting that the Iranian government has “a long reach” in this matter, and the Boroumand Foundation “in its ongoing investigations has identified more than 540 Iranians whose successful killings or kidnappings are attributed to the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
According to this report, since the 1357 Revolution, Islamic Republic agents have carried out hundreds of attacks against refugees in various countries, and since they have been immune from punishment in most cases, they have continuously repeated these attacks.
Hengaw also reported that Morteza Haghbayan, a media activist and Telegram activist from Sanandaj, has been sentenced to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment, 90 lashes, and a fine of 10 million tomans on charges of “libeling Kurdistan Province officials and publishing government documents.”
According to the report, Mr. Haghbayan was arrested in September 2019 for his activities in the “Amak” Telegram channel (exposing the performance of Kurdistan managers) and was held in solitary confinement at the Intelligence Office for 67 days.
Source: Radio Farda
