Arrest of a Disabled Kurdish Political Activist in Iraqi Kurdistan and His Extradition to Iran

The Hengaw Human Rights Organization announced on Thursday, September 6, that security forces in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in Sulaymaniyah, have extradited a disabled Kurdish political activist from Saqqez to the Islamic Republic of Iran last week. Hengaw identified this political activist as 'Behzad Khosravi' and stated that he was a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and simultaneously a registered refugee with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. According to reports received by Hengaw, the Asayish (security) forces of the Kurdistan Region arrested 35-year-old Behzad Khosravi last week and after torture, handed him over to the security forces of the Islamic Republic. In this regard, Zhila Mostajer, a board member of this human rights organization, wrote on the social media platform 'X': 'The extradition of this political activist to the Islamic Republic of Iran is while no country has the right to deport a refugee who is a registered member of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees back to their country of origin, even if the individual is accused of committing any crime.' Hengaw also reported that the security forces in Sulaymaniyah have increased pressure on Behzad Khosravi's family, giving his sister and mother, who are also members of the Democratic Party and registered with the UNHCR, a 10-day deadline to leave the Sulaymaniyah area. Additionally, the transfer of two detained activists from Gilan-e Gharb from the IRGC detention center to police custody was noted. Saad Spandar, a 24-year-old Kolbar, was shot dead by Islamic Republic agents, while Mokhtar Asadi, a Kurdish teachers' union activist, was transferred to the quarantine section of Evin Prison.