At least five Kurdish citizens have been detained in Mahabad and Naqadeh in West Azerbaijan Province in recent days as security forces continue a new wave of arrests targeting Kurdish citizens and activists.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has reported that Mahmoud Khodadadi and Hemin Rahimi, both from Naqadeh, were beaten and arrested without a warrant on 7 December at their workplace.
Following Rahimi’s arrest, security forces took him to his family home and searched the property, damaging household belongings in the process.
On 9 December, Kazem Azdeh and Nasser Azarm from Khalifan in West Azerbaijan Province, were also detained without a warrant.
The following day, on 10 December, security forces beat and arrested Saman Ghorbani at his family home in the village of Il-e Teymur in Mahabad without a warrant.
All five detainees are believed to have been transferred to security service detention facilities in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province.
Security and judicial authorities have denied their families any information on the detainees’ whereabouts or legal status, despite repeated enquiries.
KHRN’s data indicates that, over the past two weeks, security forces have arrested at least 24 Kurdish citizens and activists across Marivan, Bukan, Mahabad, Oshnavieh, Piranshahr, Orumiyeh and Naqadeh.
These arrests have largely been carried out by agents of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence.