Behzad Khosravi’s Family: Our Son Has Not Been Released and Was Forced to Confess in Iranian Intelligence Detention Center In Sanandaj

Hengaw: Sunday, September 8, 2024

Several days after the news of Behzad Khosravi’s arrest and extradition—a Kurdish political activist and resident of Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq—by the security forces (Asaysh) to Iran, an Instagram account under his name has started posting, sharing a video of his forced confessions.

In the video, where only the sky is visible and the recording location is unknown, Behzad Khosravi appears in the uniform of the company he worked for in Sulaymaniyah. He states, “I didn’t have permission to stay in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the KDPI didn’t cooperate with me. So I went to the Asayish forces and asked them to return me to Iran. They took me to the border, and I returned to Iran on my own, and now I am free.”

Hengaw contacted Khosravi’s family for further information, and they denied the news of his release. They confirmed that he remains detained at the Iranian Intelligence Detention Center in Sanandaj and that under pressure from this security agency, he was forced to read a pre-written statement and record the video.

It is worth noting that the Instagram account, which was created today under Behzad Khosravi’s name and is managed by the Sanandaj Intelligence Agency, has gained nearly 800 followers, 90% of whom are fake accounts with Persian names and have recently joined the platform.

Behzad Khosravi, a 35-year-old Kurdish political activist from Saqqez, is a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and an officially recognized refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He was summoned by the Sulaymaniyah Asayish two weeks ago, arrested, and without his family’s knowledge, extradited to Iran last Saturday, where he was handed over to Iranian Intelligence.

Following the media coverage of the case by Hengaw, the Sulaymaniyah Asayish issued an official statement, claiming that after Khosravi’s arrest in one of Sulaymaniyah’s streets, they discovered that he was not a political figure, his residency permit had expired, and he requested to be returned to Iran, which they facilitated.

The following day, the public relations office of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan issued an official statement, clarifying that Behzad Khosravi had been a member of the party for ten years and that he had a valid residency permit. Additionally, Khosravi’s residency card, a copy of which was provided to Hengaw, shows that he had at least three more months of valid residency in Iraqi Kurdistan, after which he could have applied for a one-year renewal.