Azad Khanche-zar has been arrested to start his prison sentence. He was previously arrested in May 2009 and released on $20,000 bail after 2 months of detention in Ministry of Intelligence prisons in Marivan and Sanandaj, Kurdistan province. Reports indicate that he and other civil activists detained in those prisons have been subject to severe physical and mental pressures.

According to CHRR, the trials of three other well-known activists in the fields of children, women and labor rights have been held at the Revolutionary Court in the city of Marivan. The court has sentenced Mozaffar Roukhandeh and Karevan Darsaid to 2 years suspended imprisonment, while Najibeh Sobhani who has been suffering from severe depression after detention is still awaiting her court verdict. These civil activists were arrested in May 2009 and released on bail after two months.