Kurdish Cultural Figures Receive Prison Sentences for ‘Acting Against National Security’

A source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that eight literary and cultural figures from Gilan-e Gharb in Kermanshah Province, who were arrested by security forces last August, were sentenced to a total of 13 years in prison by the Gilan-e Gharb Revolutionary Court, with Judge Babakhani presiding. The group had been released on bail after spending one to two months in temporary detention.

The charge raised against the group was “acting against national security” through supporting Kurdish opposition groups, and the following sentences were issued:  Sajjad Jahanfard, Ezzedin Heydari, and Maziar Mohammadi, each received one year in prison; Naim Najafi, 4 years, Farhad Vakilinia, 3 years, Jamal Khani, 2 years, and Maryam Amini, 1 year’s suspended prison term. Sina Bijanpour was acquitted of the charge.

According to the source, since his release, Ezzedin Heydari has been hospitalized three times in Kermanshah’s Farabi hospital due to psychological pressure he suffered during his detention. He remains under medical treatment at this time.

A large group of civil activists in Kermanshah and other Kurdistan cities were arrested just as the IRGC attacked areas inside Iraqi Kurdistan to confront PJAK armed forces last summer. Many military forces from both sides, in addition to several civilians in the region, were killed during the two-month-long confrontation.