Baseless Accusation of “Moharebeh” Against Four Protesters in Sanandaj

Iran-HRM – The Iranian judiciary has falsely accused four Kurdish citizens from Sanandaj named Keyvan Zandi, Aram Azad, Sardar Shahmoradi, and Houshang Chahar Gorgeh of “moharebeh” (enmity against God). These individuals were arrested by security forces during the nationwide protests in Sanandaj last autumn. Currently, they are held in temporary detention at Sanandaj Central Prison, facing the imminent risk of being sentenced to death.

These four individuals were arrested by security forces in December 2022 and were held for months in one of the security detention centers in the city of Sanandaj, where they were subjected to severe physical and psychological torture to extract forced confessions.

The accusation against these individuals is their alleged “participation in the killing of a law enforcement officer” during the 40th day memorial ceremony of several victims of state violence in Sanandaj on November 17, 2022. However, there is no evidence or documentation to support these baseless accusations. Despite enduring severe physical and psychological torture at the detention center of the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Organization, they have denied the Intelligence Ministry interrogators’ claims of “participation in the killing of a law enforcement officer” and have not been coerced into making forced confessions.

The case of these four individuals, accused of “moharebeh” (enmity against God), is currently being heard in the first branch of the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, under the supervision of Judge Saeedi.

After months of being held at the Shahramfar Detention Center of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, these four individuals were transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison. Keyvan Zandi and Aram Azad were temporarily released from Sanandaj Central Prison after some time upon posting a bail of 3 billion tomans. However, they were rearrested and returned to Sanandaj Central Prison after a few days under pressure from the IRGC Intelligence Organization.

On November 17, 2022, thousands of citizens gathered at the Behesht Mohammadi Cemetery in Sanandaj on the 40th day memorial of those killed by security forces during the Iran protests. After the ceremony, they started moving towards the city. During the intense crackdown on this peaceful day, Aram Habibi and Shahou Bahmani were killed. Additionally, Omid Hassani, who had been detained along with dozens of other citizens, was tortured to death while in custody.

Furthermore, government-affiliated media outlets had also reported the killing of a repressive force member named Hassan Yousefi in Sanandaj on the same day.
Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran HRM) considers the accusation of “moharebeh” against these four individuals as baseless and unfounded, and it warns that they are at risk of being sentenced to death. It calls on the international community to raise awareness about the potential death sentences for these four individuals.