Kurdish Individual Arrested after Iranian Security Forces Assault His Mother and Threaten to Kill His Captive Brother

Hengaw, Friday, September 13, 2024

As part of the ongoing wave of arrests of individuals in Kurdistan ahead of the second anniversary of the state murder of Jina Amini, Zaniar Afsari, a Kurdish individual from Marivan, was handed over to the intelligence agency after his family was threatened that his brother would be killed if they did not turn Zaniar in. He was subsequently transferred to an undisclosed location.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 33-year-old Zaniar Afsari, a resident of the village of Ney in the Marivan district, turned himself over to security forces after his brother, Kamran Afsari, was arrested, and his release was conditioned on Zaniar surrendering. Zaniar was then arrested and transferred to an unknown location.

Sources familiar with the case reported that on Wednesday, the family was summoned to the intelligence office, where they were told that for Kamran Afsari’s release, his brother Zaniar had to be handed over. A member of the intelligence agency, with the surname Mohammadi (Yousefzadeh), threatened the family that if they did not hand over Zaniar, Kamran would be killed. Zaniar Afsari subsequently turned himself in and was arrested.

Kamran Afsari was arrested on Tuesday, September 10, during a raid by intelligence forces on his family’s home, without any judicial warrant and with the use of violence. He was released the following day after threats were made and Zaniar was handed over.

It is worth noting that during Kamran Afsari’s arrest, a member of the intelligence forces, with the surname Yousefzadeh, assaulted Kamran's mother and struck her head with the butt of a gun.

At the time of this report, no precise information is available regarding the reasons for Zaniar Afsari’s arrest, the charges against him, his whereabouts, or his fate.