A further five Kurdish citizens have been detained by security forces in Mahabad and Piranshahr and taken to undisclosed locations as the latest wave of arrests in Kurdish regions continues.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has reported that, on 8 December, security forces arrested Ahmad Khodadadi from Naqadeh, who lives in Piranshahr.
Two days later, on 10 December, security forces detained Akam Sheikheh, from the village of Qarah Qeshlaq in Mahabad, along with three residents of Khorkhoreh village in Mahabad – Hazhar Mohammadzadeh-Aghdam, Iman Mohammadzadeh and Karzan Bahmani.
None of the arrests were carried out with a judicial warrant, KHRN has learned.
All five detainees were reportedly transferred to a security agency detention facility 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 29 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.
All detainees are being held without access to legal counsel or contact with their families.