Disabled Kurdish Political Activist Arrested and Extraditioned to Iran by the Security Forces of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government

Hengaw; Saturday, September 7, 2024

Last week, the security forces of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in Sulaymaniyah arrested a disabled Kurdish political activist from Saqqez, identified as Behzad Khosravi, who is a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and an officially registered refugee with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He was reportedly subjected to severe torture before being handed over to Iranian security forces.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, last week, forces from the Asayish (security agency) of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq arrested 35-year-old political activist Behzad Khosravi in Sulaymaniyah. After subjecting him to severe torture, they handed him over to the Iranian security forces.

A source informed Hengaw that on Sunday, September 1, 2024, the 
 Iranian Intelligence Office in Sanandaj contacted Behzad Khosravi’s brother, informing him that his brother is being held by this agency.

Additionally, since Behzad’s arrest, his mother, Hadigheh Hosseini, and his sister, Begard Khosravi, have not received any information about his fate. The Asayish in Sulaymaniyah reportedly told them that Behzad was detained for publishing photos of the leaders of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan.

Hengaw has learned that the Asayish in Sulaymaniyah has intensified pressure on Behzad Khosravi’s family, giving his mother and sister, who are also members of the Democratic Party and officially registered refugees with the UNHCR, a 10-day deadline to leave the Sulaymaniyah area.

It is worth noting that the extradition of this political activist to the Islamic Republic of Iran violates international law, as no country has the right to deport a refugee who is an officially registered member of the UNHCR to their country of origin, even if they are accused of committing a crime.