According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Mr. Salehi is said to have been transferred to a security detention center for questioning following his arrest.
As of this writing, the exact whereabouts and the charges against Mr. Salehi are not known.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Asadi, who is a native of Divandarreh in Kurdistan Province, informed his family yesterday that he had been transferred to this security detention center.
“Mr. Asadi was detained by security forces when he was closing his shop for lunch,” an informed source told HRANA.
The reasons for Asadi’s arrest and the charges against him are not known as of this writing.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, the citizens were taken to an unknown location following their arrest.
The report has identified the detainees as Behrouz Azizi and Rasoul Azizian, both from the village of Mehrab in the Sanandaj area. The reasons for their detention and whereabouts are still unknown.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Mr. Ghorbani has been previously sentenced to death by the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court on a charge of “insurgency”.
Heydar Ghorbani, a native of the village of Bazvash in Kamyaran area in Kurdistan Province, was first sentenced in October 2019 to three charges of imprisonment each for 30 years on charges of assisting in murder, assault with a deadly weapon, helping offenders to escape from law enforcement, involvement in premeditated murder, murder attempt, affixing a license plate to another car, attempt to kidnap, and the acquisition of stolen property.
The First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj eventually sentenced Mr. Ghorbani to death on the charge of insurgency.
In August 2020, Branch 2 of the Supreme Court in Qom upheld the sentence and sent the case to the Kamyaran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office for enforcement of the judgment.
Saleh Nikbakht, Mr. Ghorbani’s attorney, announced in August 2020 that his client’s request for retrial had been filed. In September 2020, this request was overturned by Branch 27 of the Supreme Court.
In December 2020, another retrial was requested which was overturned last week. Saleh Nikbakht, Gorbani’s defense lawyer, said he will request a retrial again.
“From a legal and jurisprudential point of view, the accusation of insurgent against Mr. Ghorbani is not valid because someone who is called [rebel] insurgence is someone who is a member of a group which revolts against the Islamic Republic,” Nikbakht said. “If the group members use weapons, then they will be sentenced to death. None of these are true about Mr. Heydar Ghorbani.”
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, the two citizens were arrested by security forces on Thursday, June 17th. Ms. Haghdoost was transferred to Sanandaj Prison after her arrest, and Mr. Fathi was transferred to Marivan Prison.
Aram Fathi, a resident of Marivan with a history of arrests and convictions, was arrested by security forces at his home arrest.
Soraya Haghdoost, also citizen of Marivan, was arrested by security forces on Thursday, June 17, and transferred to Sanandaj Prison.
As of this writing, no information is available on the charges against the citizens.
Frank Jamshidi, a resident of Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province, was transferred to the city’s correctional center to serve out her prison sentence.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Jamishidi is facing a charge of “membership in an opposition party”.
In February 2020, a hearing on her case was held in the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj, presided over by Judge Saeedi, and Ms. Jamshidi was sentenced to four years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to one year in prison by Branch 4 of the Court of Appeals of Kurdistan Province.
Ms. Jamshidi was arrested by security agents in June 2020 and was released on a bail after 4 months of detention.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Allah Veisi was arrested in the Sanandaj bazaar in Kurdistan Province on May 8 and then taken to an unknown location.
“So far, Allah Veisi’s family has been unsuccessful in finding information about the detainee’s condition,” an informed source said, per the report. “Mr. Allah Veisi has been deprived of having a lawyer and family visits during his detention.”
As of this writing, the reasons for the arrest and the charges against Allah Veisi are unknown.
Protests have erupted across Iran after the government unexpectedly announced it is rationing petrol and increasing its price. The protests took place across the country following the decision of the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, at midnight of November 14, 2019, to cut petrol subsidies to raise funds for social assistance to the poor. Petrol price was increased to a minimum of 15,000 Rials per liter, 50% increase from the day before.
Nationwide protests in the last three days were in at least 48 cities such as: Ahvaz, Shooshtar, Dezful, Gachsaran, Abadan, Khorramshahr, Bandar Mahshahr, Rasht, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Gorgan, Khorramabad, Qom, Ilam, Karaj, Sanandaj, Dorud, Qazvin, Arak, Mahdi Shahr, Garmsar, Shahroud, Najafabad, Mariwan, Tehran, Tabriz, Ardabil, Urmia, Saveh, Pasargadae, Qods (Qal’eh Hasan Khan), Varamin, Sari, Yasuj, Qaemshahr, Shahrekord, Malek Shahr, Parand, Damavand, Pol Dokhtar, Neyshabur, Sarepol Zahab, Kahnooj, Yazd, Bandar Bushehr, Bahmai, Shahriar, etc. They are still ongoing in several cities.
Peaceful demonstrations turned violent in Sanandaj, Mahshahr, and Shiraz, with online videos purporting to show police officers firing teargas at protesters and mobs setting fires. Several people were injured or killed in the first three days of protests as a result of the police’s direct shots. On November 17, 2019, students of Tehran University and Tabriz University protested inside the university. Shops at Tehran Grand Bazaar went on strike on November 17, 2019.
The protests started on November 15, 2019, and are still ongoing. The arrest of more than 1000 people across the country was confirmed. More than 150 banks and supermarkets were set on fire and a police officer was killed. Two Hawzas -a seminary where Shi’a Muslim clerics are educated- were set on fire in Shiraz and Kazerun. According to unconfirmed reports, at least 36 people were killed in Sirjan, Shiraz, Behbahan, Marivan, Khoramshahr, Isfahan, and Shahriar.
According to Fars News, protests were held in 100 cities and at least 100 banks and 57 supermarkets were set on fire. Based on this report, the number of protesters were 87400 from which 82200 are men and 5200 women. At least 1000 people were arrested. Yazd prosecutor confirmed the arrest of 40 people in the city of Yazd. Bam Prosecutor also confirmed the arrest of 15 people in the city of Bam. The prosecutor of Robat Karim confirmed the arrest of 34 protesters for vandalism. According to Mohammad Reza Amoui, Kermanshah’s chief of Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on November 16, Major Iraj Javaheri was killed fighting with protesters in Kermanshah. A journalist resided in Mariwan, Adnan Hasanpour, reported that security forces shot people directly and at least seven people were killed in Javanrud, one person was killed in Sanandaj, and several people were injured. According to unconfirmed reports, 15 of the killed people are identified as following:
Meisam Adgipour, Khaled Maniat, Ali Ghazlavy, Milad Hamidavi, Ali Boghlani, Hamzeh Savari, Mohammad Asafi Zargani, Ehsan Abdollahnejad, Mehdi Nikouei, Osman Naderi, Mehran Tak, Shahou Validi, Javad Nazari Fathabadi, Mehrdad Dashtizadeh, Mohammad Hossein Ghanavati.
Iran has almost completely shut off access to the internet across the country. On November 16, 2019, by the approval of the National Security Supreme Council, the government has completely blocked Internet access in Iran to stymie protests. Due to the internet shut down and the lack of access to freelance reporters and citizen journalists, confirming news about demonstrations and deaths is difficult. It also caused difficulty for Iranian citizens to have access to news agencies websites. On Monday, November 18, schools are closed in 17 cities across Iran:
Shiraz, Kazerun, Alborz, Fereydun, Fereydun Shahr, Farsan, Kuhrang, Laran, Taleqan, Astara, and Najafabad. In addition, universities are closed in Shiraz.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has backed petrol price increases claiming opponents of the Islamic Republic and foreign enemies were guilty of sabotage and not ordinary people. According to Khabar Online, Mojtaba Zonnour, a parliament member representing Qom, is collecting parliament members signatures to impeach Ali Larijani, the head of parliament. He gathered 50 signatures so far. Mohammad Qasim Osmani, a parliament member representing Bukan, filed his resignation and added that he resigned to announce that he was not involved in this decision [raising petrol price]. Today, with respect to Ayatollah Khamenei’s views, the Ministry of Intelligence announced that the protesters will face harsh punishments. Reportedly, people received threatening text messages in Khuzestan and Karaj from the prosecutor’s offices of their province. People were warned about attending protests and not to disturb public order and facilitate the abuse of opposition groups.
Video reports of the first day protests:
Video reports of the second-day protests
Video reports of the third day of protests:
The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 17th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
(1) More than three protests were held across the country. The workers of inter-city rail in Ahvaz, several teachers in Yazd, and the workers of the maintenance contractor in oil, gas, petrochemical, refineries, water and energy (RAMPCO Group) in Assaluyeh, have organized separate protests.
(2) Four people have been summoned and one was arrested in Sonqor in Kermanshah province. Borzou Naderi, Ehsan Darabi, Fahim Naseri, Kiumars Vaezi, and Zahra Asadi have been summoned. Moreover, Darabi was arrested and transferred to the Intelligence Detention Center.
(3) A detained Lebanese citizen, Nazar Zaka, who was held in solitary confinement for 11 days, has been transferred from Evin prison to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Detention Center. He was sentenced to 10 years and paying 200 thousand dollars fine on espionage-related charges.
(4) A day after Iranian ambassador to the UK meeting with the UK media regarding Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe’s case, the UK Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, repeated his request for her release.
(5) Five Kulbars have been shot by border patrol in Khoy, Sardasht, Urmia, and Chaldoran in West Azerbaijan province. Afshin Alipour, Abdollah Yousefi, Ehsan Khaledi, Naser Omari were killed or injured. Also, Amir Taheri, another Kulbar, died from hypothermia.
(6) Hamid and Mohammad Parvazeh who were arrested by the Intelligence agents in Sanandaj, were transferred to Marivan prison. They were charged with “cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group”. They were not given access to lawyers.
(7) Prison authorities will transfer Nazanin Zaghari and Narges Mohammadi to hospital. They ended a 3-day hunger strike in protest to the denial of medical care last night. They suffer from serious health conditions which have been exacerbated in prison due to authorities’ refusal of medical care to them.
(8) Amir Amirgholi a former political prisoner and a member of Gam editorial board was arrested and his whereabouts is unknown. Amir Hossein Mohammadifar and Sanaz Allahyari, the editors of “Gam”, were arrested on January 9, 2019.
(9) Mostafa Borumand sentenced to 74 lashes and six and a half years imprisonment on the charge of “disturbing public order” by being present in an unlawful protest. He was in Vakilabad prison for 11 months before his trial.
(10) An 11-year-old student died by suicide in Urmia in West Azerbaijan province. More than 7% of suicides in Iran are committed by teenagers.
(11) A 55-year-old construction worker had a fatal fall in his workplace in Tehran because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions.
(12) Political prisoners of Urmia prison were transferred forcefully by “special guards” to a high security level ward which does not have any air conditioner, window, and kitchen.
The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 16th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
(1) Morteza Parhizgar was sentenced to 74 lashes and nine years imprisonment on the charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “insulting the president”. He was in prison for 11 months before his trial.
(2) More than five protests were held across the country. The workers of inter-city rail in Ahvaz, several teachers in Yazd, the farmers of Esfarvarin, the customers of SAIPA and Iran Khodro in Tehran and Urmia, and the workers of the maintenance contractor in oil, gas, petrochemical, refineries, water and energy (RAMPCO Group) in Assaluyeh, have organized separate protests.
(3) Six United Nations special rapporteurs requested Iranian authorities to prepare medical care for Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe and Narges Mohammadi. Their health conditions have been exacerbated in prison due to authorities’ refusal of medical care.
(4) Aryasb Bavand was sentenced to 22 years and six months prison term and Mahizadeh Poshtpanah has faced six years imprisonment. Their accusations are “Forming a group to act against the national security, propaganda against the state and insulting the Supreme Leader”.
(5) A worker of Iran National Steel Industrial Group (NSIG) in Ahvaz, Mohammad Reza Nematpour, was released today. Two other workers of NSIG are still in prison. More than 43 workers of NSIG have been arrested on December 16, 2018.
(6) A 29-year-old prisoner was executed on the charge of murder after spending six years in prison. He was hanged earlier today, in Babol. In 2018, at least 236 people have been executed and 195 people have been sentenced to death in Iran.
(7) Some 13 thousand children suffer from malnutrition in Sistan and Bauchestan province.
(8) A student transportation vehicle crashed leaving one dead and six injured students in Ekhtiarabad in the Kerman province.
(9) An accused individual in the Golestan province received an alternative sentencing to study and teach traffic laws to students. In the last 10 months, 3000 convicts received alternative sentences in the Golestan province.
(10) A lawyer, Hossein Ahmadi Niaz, was summoned to the Sanandaj court on the charge of “publishing lies” and “disturbing public opinion”. Several lawyers were arrested or have been under pressure for the cases they accepted to defend.
(11) The court of Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activists, Olduz Ghasemi, Javad Ahmadi Yekanli, and Amir Sattari was in session today. They were charged with “propaganda against the state” for being present in an unlawful protest.
(12) Some 1.5 million students are studying at old and structurally unsafe schools. In the last six years, hazardous events occurred due to unsafe schools and led to 58 injuries and deaths. Moreover, 70 students died or had been injured in schools field trips.
(13) Majid Asadi, a prisoner in Rajaee Shahr in Karaj, wrote an open letter about torture, mistreatment, humiliation and abuse in prison. He has been arrested in February 2017 on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security”. He is serving his six years sentence.
