Matin Hassani, a 23-year-old Kurdish civilian who was injured in the eye during anti-government protests in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, in November 2019, has been jailed in the city’s prison to serve a 31-month prison sentence, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported.

The young man was summoned to the Bukan court in recent days and was arrested on 26 August after reporting to the authorities.

On 23 January, security forces arrested Hassani in Bukan and took him to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in the city.

After initial interrogation, the young man was transferred to the city’s prison before being provisionally released on 22 February on bail of 10 billion rials – nearly 20,000 USD.

On 16 May, Hassani was sentenced to a total of 31 months in prison by Branch 101 of Criminal Court 2 of Bukan on charges of “inciting or provoking people to war and murder with the intent of disrupting national security” and “propaganda against the state”.

Hassani was injured by gunfire from military security forces during anti-government protests in Bukan on 16 November 2019, suffering damage to his left eye.

Despite the passage of four years, a pellet remains in his left eye due to the risk of surgery as a bullet hit the nerve part of the eye.

Hassani had previously been arrested by security forces in December 2019 while receiving treatment at a medical centre in Tehran, and was released on bail from Tehran’s Evin Prison some time later.

Over the past year, he had been threatened by the security services for meeting with the families of protesters killed during the "Jin, Jiyaz, Azadi" [Woman, Life, Freedom] anti-government uprising and visiting the graves of those killed.