Continued Arrests in Kurdistan Province Following Strikes

Human rights media, including Hengaw, Hrana, and Kurdpa, have reported ongoing arrests of citizens and activists in cities across Kurdistan following public strikes in the province. According to these media outlets, the latest cases involve the arrest of Milad and Nariman Randani, two brothers and media and civil activists in Sanandaj, the detention of a citizen named Avareh Shakhsi in Sardasht, and the arrest of a labor activist named Jalil Mohammadi in Sanandaj. Reports indicate that these citizens were arrested on Wednesday evening and Thursday by security forces without judicial warrants, and there is no information available regarding the charges against them or their place of detention. Thus, according to reports from human rights media, the number of detainees in various cities of Kurdistan Province has reached at least 11 since Wednesday, following the general strike in the province. The public strikes in cities of Kurdistan Province began on Wednesday in protest against the death sentences of Vrisheh Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi. Most of the detainees are shopkeepers and merchants, several of whom have a history of previous arrests. Other names of detainees include Soheila Motai, Mohammad Saifpanahi, Sina Rezaei, Mohammad Atlasi, Omid Mohammadi, Amjad Garmakhizi, and Naeem Doosti; the Kurdpa website reported that Ms. Motai was temporarily released hours after her arrest and the formation of a case against her. Pakhshan Azizi, a social worker and civil activist, and Vrisheh Moradi, a women's rights activist, have been sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court on charges of 'baghy' through 'membership in groups that have engaged in armed rebellion against the Islamic government.' The sentences issued for these two Kurdish citizens have sparked a wave of protests both inside and outside Iran, and Radio Farda reported a few days ago that the execution of Ms. Azizi's sentence has been temporarily halted. The strikers in Kurdistan Province demanded the complete annulment of the death sentences for these two individuals.