Kurdish man in Mahabad arrested to serve prison sentence

Hengaw: Thursday, February 6, 2025

Kamil (Mohammad) Esmaeili-Azar, a Kurdish resident of Mahabad, has been arrested to serve his six-month prison sentence and transferred to the city’s central prison.

According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on February 5, 2025, 29-year-old Mohammad Esmaeili-Azar, a resident of Qaleh Hassan village, a father of two, was arrested at his home by IRGC intelligence forces using violence and taken to Mahabad Central Prison to begin his sentence.

Hengaw has learned that Mohammad Esmaeili-Azar had previously been sentenced to 13 months in prison by the Mahabad Revolutionary Court on charges of “collaborating with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan.” His sentence includes six months of imprisonment and seven months of house arrest under electronic monitoring.

He was initially arrested in March 2024 when security forces raided his home and forcibly arrested him. After several months in custody, he was temporarily released on bail pending trial.