Hengaw Reports Another Kurdish Political Prisoner Dies Under Torture

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported the 'death under torture' of a Kurdish political activist accused of 'membership in one of the Kurdish opposition parties' while in Urmia prison. The human rights website Hengaw identified this individual as Peyman Golvani from Mahabad, who died 14 days after being arrested by security forces in Mahabad and transferred to the Urmia Intelligence Department detention center, 'under torture by the forces of this governmental institution.' This human rights agency stated that the prisoner died a few days after being hospitalized due to decreased consciousness and going into a coma on Sunday, July 9, 2023. According to this report, this political activist had started his married life seven months ago. The report emphasized that security agents claimed the reason for his coma was 'falling from a height.' According to Hengaw, Peyman Golvani was arrested on Sunday, June 25, 2023, by security forces in Mahabad 'using violence' and was transferred to the Urmia Intelligence Department detention center. A few days ago, Hengaw also reported the 'killing' of another Kurdish political prisoner named Mousa Ismaili 'under the torture of the Iranian government institutions.' According to Hengaw, the Urmia Intelligence Department contacted Mousa Ismaili's family on the morning of Saturday, July 8, without providing any explanation, and informed them that their son had been executed. Following the family's visit to the Urmia Intelligence Department to retrieve Mousa's body, prison officials not only refused to hand over the body but also warned against holding a funeral ceremony. According to Hengaw's report, Mousa Ismaili, a 35-year-old from the village of Pasouy in the Piranshahr district, was arrested by the Intelligence Department forces on the evening of Sunday, May 7, 2023, and his personal vehicle was also confiscated. Hengaw reported that Ismaili's family had been actively seeking information about their son's status during his detention and believed that he had not even been tried, that the charges against him were unclear, and that he had been killed under torture by security agents. Mousa Ismaili had had no contact with his family since his arrest, and the family's repeated inquiries were met with silence from officials. The killing of detainees in custody in Iran has a history, and even in recent months, this trend has accelerated, with a report from the Committee for the Follow-up of the Status of Detainees stating that at least 16 individuals arrested during the nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini were killed. This committee specified that these 16 protesters 'were killed as a result of torture for confession or due to the denial of effective treatment after being shot.' Some deaths under torture in Iran have sparked significant reactions. One such case was Sattar Beheshti, a worker and blogger who was arrested by the Cyber Police on November 1, 2012. He was detained on charges of 'acting against national security through activity on social networks and Facebook' and was transferred to an unknown location. During the interrogation, he was severely tortured by the Cyber Police and ultimately died. Another case was that of Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian photographer who was arrested while attempting to report in Iran during unrest and student protests, and died in prison for taking photos of families of prisoners gathered outside Evin Prison. Kavous Seyed-Emami, another notable figure, died in prison. This environmental activist, who held a PhD in sociology and was a faculty member at the Imam Sadiq University, died in Evin Prison on February 8, 2018. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the then-prosecutor of Tehran, stated regarding Seyed-Emami's death that 'this individual was one of the environmental suspects, and given that he knew many confessions had been made against him and he himself had made confessions, unfortunately, he committed suicide in prison.' The sixteenth year of Zeynab Jalalian's imprisonment; exile to Yazd and deprivation of visitation and leave. Two Yarsan civil activists have been deprived of 'visiting their family and lawyer' 50 days after their arrest. Hengaw: A political prisoner was killed 'under torture' by the Islamic Republic's agents. Hengaw: Nazila Maroufian, a journalist, has been arrested again. Hossein Yazdi, a critical journalist, has been arrested again. Hengaw: At least 168 people were arrested in Iran last month. Warning about the imminent execution of Milad Zahrevand; the judiciary: A retribution sentence has been issued. Increased pressure from the Islamic Republic on Kurdish religious figures in Iran.