The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) special forces and the Law Enforcement Force’s special units have maintained a heavy presence in Kermanshah as protests continue across Iran amid an ongoing nationwide internet shutdown, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has reported.
KHRN has confirmed the identities of six more Kurdish citizens killed in recent days during protests in Kermanshah, after they were shot by IRGC forces in several neighbourhoods of the city, including Elahiyeh, Darreh Drezh, Nowbahar and Rashidi.
Those killed are 17-year-old Amir-Ali Heydari; 28-year-old Navid Salehi, a nurse at Farabi Hospital; 40-year-old BayaT Sobhani, a father of two from the village of Shamshir in Paveh; as well as Sajjad Feyzi, Mohammad Jafari and Erfan Jameh-Shourani.
A healthcare worker in Kermanshah told KHRN that conditions in medical centres are “completely dire”, citing a high number of fatalities and saying that families are being pressured by security agencies to remain silent in return for the release of the bodies of their loved ones.
Separately, KHRN has received information indicating that at least five Kurdish citizens were killed during protests in Tehran after being shot by security forces.
They have been identified as Diyar Abdollahi, 32, from Salmas; Borhan Seyyedi from the village of Yengejeh in Salmas; 16-year-old Alireza Seydi from Abdanan; Mohammad Zamani, a father of two from Eyvan-e Gharb; and Salam Mirani, a father of three from the village of Cheshmidar in Sarvabad.
A large crowd attended Alireza Seydi’s funeral on 11 January, where security forces opened fire on mourners chanting anti-government slogans.
KHRN has also obtained the names of several other Kurdish citizens killed during protests in Tehran and Mashhad. Due to the extensive internet disruption, verification of these cases is still ongoing.
According to data compiled by KHRN, since the protests began, at least 28 Kurdish citizens have been killed by security forces’ gunfire in Kuhdasht and Nurabad-e Delfan in Lorestan Province, Malekshahi in Ilam Province, Kermanshah and Harsin in Kermanshah Province, Tehran, and Chenaran in Razavi Khorasan Province.