Kamiyaran: Eight Kurdish Civil and Environmental Activists Arrested After Ismail Karimi's Funeral Identified

Hengaw; Thursday, July 25, 2024

At least 10 Kurdish civil and environmental activists, eight of whom have been identified as Khalil Parandak, Yaser Nouri, Farideh Vaisi, Hamid Sabzeh, Farzin Movafaqi, Amir Nadimi, Hessam Mahdi, and Amanj Ghorbani, were violently arrested by IRGC intelligence forces after the funeral ceremony of Ismail Karimi, a Kurdish environmental activist from Kamyaran.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, at 3 PM on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, IRGC intelligence forces raided Kuhestan Restaurant located on the Sanandaj-Kamyaran road and arrested at least 10 civil and environmental activists. Hengaw sources have reported that the number of arrested individuals might increase.

The identities of eight of the arrested individuals have been confirmed by Hengaw as Khalil Parandak from Ravansar, a member of the "Chro" Environmental Supporters Association, Yaser Nouri, an environmental activist from Javanruod, Farideh Vaisi and Hamid Sabzeh, members of the Zhiway Environmental Association and both from Paveh, Farzin Movaffaqi, Amir Nadimi, Hesam Mahdi, teachers in the Department of Education, and Amanj Ghorbani, all from Kamiyaran. The identities of the other detained individuals are still under investigation.

These individuals were arrested after the funeral ceremony of Ismail Karimi, a Kurdish environmental activist who passed away the previous morning due to injuries from burns sustained while containing a wildfire. They were resting in the mentioned restaurant at the time of their arrest. An eyewitness told Hengaw: "The security forces, armed with pistols and Kalashnikovs, beat the detained activists during the arrest and also confiscated their mobile phones."

It is worth mentioning that Ismail Karimi's funeral was held the previous day in his birthplace village of "Najafabad" with more than 6,000 people in attendance. The attendees chanted slogans such as "Martyrs do not die" and "Kak Esmail is a hero, he is a martyr of Kurdistan."

Amanj Ghorbani and Yaser Nouri had been repeatedly arrested by Iranian security agencies in past years and had even endured imprisonment.