All six men have been formally charged with “membership of groups opposed to the Islamic Republic”, and their case has been referred to a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad. They have been denied legal representation since their arrest.
Kurdish civilians Ghader Kharamanfar, Jalal Sadafi, Salar Shams-Borhan, Ali Maroufi, Rebwar Rasouli and Ayoub Rasouli remain in pre-trial detention in Mahabad Prison nearly six months after their arrest by Ministry of Intelligence forces, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported.
They were arrested in December 2024 in Mahabad, and held for several months in the Ministry’s detention facility in Orumiyeh, where they were subjected to torture before being transferred to Mahabad Prison.
According to KHRN, Sadafi is in poor health, having had several of his teeth broken during interrogation, and has been denied access to medical care.
Fellow prisoner Kharamanfar suffers from knee pain, kidney problems and high blood pressure. Despite his urgent need for treatment, he too has been denied access to medical services due to opposition from the Ministry of Intelligence.
All six men have reportedly been formally charged with “membership of groups opposed to the Islamic Republic”, and their case has been referred to a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad.
The men have been denied legal representation since their arrest.
The brothers Rebwar and Ayoub Rasouli were arrested in Mahabad on 15 December 2024. On the same day, Kharamanfar, Sadafi and Maroufi were also arrested in separate raids on their family homes in the city. Shams-Borhan, from the village of Kulijeh, was arrested at his home in the village.
In February, Hajar Amiya, Kharamanfar’s wife, and Sirwan Shawleh, Sadafi’s wife, were summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence in Orumiyeh, and interrogated for several hours and threatened with arrest.
