Piranshahr: Abdullah and Mahmoud Qanbari-Vand, Kurdish Detainees of "Women, Life, Freedom" Movement, Arrested to Serve Prison Term
Hengaw: Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Abdullah Qanbari-Vand and Mahmoud Qanbari-Vand, two disabled Kurdish brothers from Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan (Urmia) and detainees from the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, were arrested and sent to Naqadeh prison to serve their prison sentences of six years and seven months.
According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Saturday, September 7, 2024, the two disabled Kurdish brothers, Abdullah Qanbari-Vand, aged 51, and Mahmoud Qanbari-Vand, aged 48, were arrested in Piranshahr to serve their six years and seven months prison sentences and were transferred to the central prison in Naqadeh.
According to informed sources, a few days before being transferred to Naqadeh prison, Mahmoud Qanbari was hospitalized at Imam Hospital in Piranshahr due to a severe infection in his amputated right leg from the ankle. Abdullah Qanbari-Vand also suffers from chronic high blood pressure.
These two Kurdish civilians were sentenced to 36 months in prison for "membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan" and three years and seven months for "acting against national security," for a total of six years and seven months of imprisonment. However, according to the law of sentence aggregation, the maximum sentence of three years and seven months applies to each of them, with one-third of the sentence suspended for four years.
It should be noted that these two individuals were previously accused of making Molotov cocktails and homemade weapons, arrested, and subsequently sentenced to prison. However, due to a lack of evidence proving the charges, the sentence was overturned. Nevertheless, they were ultimately sentenced to six years and seven months for other charges, including acting against national security and membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and were arrested for this new sentence.
According to a verdict officially delivered to them on May 14, 2023, Abdullah Qanbari-Vand was sentenced by Branch 102 of the Criminal Court in Piranshahr presided over by Judge Reza Qahramani Saatlou, to six months of imprisonment and a fine of two million rials to the Islamic Republic of Iran's government fund for "participation in the manufacture of 20 homemade Molotov cocktail explosives."
Mahmoud Qanbari-Vand was sentenced by the same court to 15 months and one day for "participation in the manufacture of one shotgun," seven years, six months, and one day for "participation in the manufacture of two homemade military weapons," three years, six months, and one day for "possession of three military bullets," and 15 months and one day for "participation in the manufacture of 20 homemade Molotov cocktail explosives." According to the sentence aggregation law, the maximum sentence of seven years, six months, and one day applied to him, which was reduced by one degree to four years of imprisonment, with half of the sentence suspended.
The two brothers were arrested on January 18, 2023, during a raid by approximately 25 Iranian government forces on their family home in Piranshahr and transferred to the Iranian Intelligence Detention Center in Urmia, then to Naqadeh prison. The forces created fear and seized the mobile phones of the family members.
During their interrogation, Abdullah and Mahmoud Qanbari-Vand were severely tortured by Iranian security forces to obtain forced confessions. They were temporarily released from Naqadeh prison on heavy bail of 15 billion tomans until the completion of their trial process.
