Kurdish Students Released on Bail

A local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that six of the seven Kurdish students arrested by the Intelligence Office of Sanandaj during the recent months were released and only one of them is still in detention presently. The seven Kurdish students are all current and former members of the Kurdish Students Democratic Union (the Union).

The Information Unit of Sanandaj Intelligence Office summoned and security forces subsequently arrested Asaad Bagheri, former secretary of the Kurdish Students Democratic Union and secretary of the Islamic Society of Kurdistan University (October 30), Suran Daneshvar, member of Central Council, Spokesperson, and Secretary of the Coordinating Committee of the Union (10 September), Millad Karimi, Deputy Secretary of the Union (29 August) and Mehdi Doagoo, the current Secretary of the Union (11 September), Arman Zamani, Rahim Bajur (13 October) and Shirzad Karimi, member of the Kurdish Students Democratic Union (20 September).

The six detained students were informed of their charges of “propagating against the regime and acting against national security” at the Information Unit of Sanandaj Intelligence Office, by the Investigative Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj.  Arman Zamani was released on 27 November from the Central Sanandaj Prison on bail of $10,000.  Zamani had been arrested on 11 November, after being summoned to the Information Unit of the Sanandaj Intelligence office.  Previously, five other members of the Union, Asaad Bagheri, Suran Daneshvar, Millad Karimi, Shirzad Karimi, and Mehdi Doagoo were temporarily released on bail after posting $70,000, $10,000, $100,000, $20,000, and $40,000 bails respectively.

According to the source, Rahim Bajur, a student from Payam Noor University in Marivan and member of the Kurdish Students Democratic Union and Marivan’s Anjoman-e Sabz-e Chia, was arrested on 13 October, after being summoned to the Information Unit of the of the Sanandaj Intelligence Office. Bajur remains under arrest at the Intelligence Office.

According to local sources, the Kurdish Students Democratic Union was established in 2005 by a group of Kurdish students across Iran.  Over the past few years, due to its extensive activities in the Iranian universities, the Union has been under severe pressure from the country’s security institutions and some of its members were banned from continuing their education.