Sanandaj — Kurdish labor activist Amjad Geryakhiz jailed to serve sentence

Hengaw – Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Amjad Geryakhiz, a 42-year-old Kurdish labor activist from Sanandaj (Sine), was arrested on Monday, July 7, 2025, and transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison to begin serving a six-month discretionary prison sentence.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court had sentenced Geryakhiz to six months in prison and an additional two years of suspended imprisonment on charges of “inciting merchants to strike.” These charges were based on his alleged role in organizing strikes in February 2025, protesting the death sentences issued against Pakhshan Azizi and Verisheh Moradi.

Geryakhiz was originally arrested on January 22, 2025, in a violent raid without a warrant. During his initial 35-day detention, he was denied access to legal counsel, phone calls, and essential medication. He was held at the Intelligence Detention Center in Sanandaj before being transferred to the city’s central prison.

On February 25, 2025, he was temporarily released on bail pending trial.