At least 17 Kurdish citizens have been detained in recent days in multiple Iranian cities, according to a Kurdish human rights group, amid what activists describe as increased security pressure on minorities and civil activists.
The arrests were reported in Abdanan, Oshnavieh, Bukan, Piranshahr and Miandoab. Security forces carried out several detentions without presenting judicial warrants, and detainees were taken to undisclosed locations, rights monitors said.
In Oshnavieh, three Kurdish citizens – Shaho Ebrahimi, Shafi Ahmadi and Siraj Elyasi, 16 – were detained within a 24-hour period and transferred to an unknown location, Kurdish rights outlet Kurdpa reported. Kurdpa said Ebrahimi is the brother of Shavaneh Ebrahimi, a political prisoner who was detained by security forces 11 days earlier and whose fate remains unknown.
Separately, at least three citizens were detained in Abdanan, Ilam province, by intelligence agents, human rights news agency HRANA reported. Kolbar News also reported the detention of several young residents of Abdanan and nearby villages, including minors, saying those held were transferred to undisclosed locations.
Additional arrests were reported in Bukan, Piranshahr and Miandoab in West Azarbaijan province, according to multiple human rights websites, bringing the total number of detainees to at least 17. With the exception of one detainee who was later released, no information has been made public about the charges, legal status or place of detention of those held.
Pressure after protest movement
The Islamic Republic has long relied on arrests and imprisonment of protesters and civil and political activists as a key tool of repression, rights groups say. The practice intensified after the Woman, Life, Freedom protests that began in 2022.
Iran International reported on Thursday that authorities had launched a new round of pressure on civil, media and political activists in several cities, citing informed sources who said the aim was to deter potential protests linked to possible government plans to raise fuel prices.
UN scrutiny
The arrests come as international scrutiny of Iran’s human rights record continues.
On Thursday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning what it described as grave, widespread and systematic human rights violations in Iran, according to UN records.
The resolution, titled “Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” was adopted by a vote of 78 in favor, 27 against and 64 abstentions, marking the 72nd such resolution adopted by the General Assembly.
According to the text, it “condemned in the strongest terms” the sharp rise in executions in Iran and raised concerns about transnational repression by Iranian authorities.
