Azad Ranaei killed by IRGC gunfire in Sanandaj amid post-ceasefire crackdown

Hengaw – Friday, June 27, 2025

Azad Ranaei, a Kurdish resident of Sanandaj (Sine), was shot dead by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at a security checkpoint within the city. The incident comes amid a broader campaign of intimidation and repression launched by the state following the recent ceasefire with Israel.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on the evening of Thursday, June 26, 2025, Ranaei, a resident of the Dushan neighborhood of Sanandaj, was fatally shot by IRGC forces.

A source familiar with the circumstances stated that Ranaei was riding a motorcycle when he was stopped at the Marivan Three-Way Junction checkpoint in Sanandaj and subsequently shot.

To date, no security, judicial, or law enforcement body of the Islamic Republic has issued any statement regarding the killing of Azad Ranaei. Authorities have remained silent, evading responsibility for the incident.

Since the beginning of the Israeli attacks on June 12, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not only engaged in war crimes and the use of civilians as human shields, but has also intensified internal repression—conducting mass arrests, subjecting detainees to torture, and using live ammunition in efforts to suppress dissent.