Fates of Kurdish men Hoshyar Shabani and Omid Ahmadpour remain unknown following arrest

Hengaw – Friday, September 5, 2025

The fates of Hoshyar Shabani, a former political prisoner and Kurdish civil activist from Baneh, and Omid Ahmadpour remain unknown more than two weeks after their arrest by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, sixteen days after their arrest, no information has been provided regarding their condition or place of detention. Both men have been denied fundamental rights, including access to legal counsel and communication with their families, despite repeated inquiries from relatives.

Concerns over Shabani’s health are heightened by reports that he was shot three times in the legs before being detained by intelligence agents. On Wednesday, August 20, 2025, the two men were arrested in the Kani Sur area of Baneh. Shabani was wounded while driving Ahmadpour’s car, after which he was taken into custody. Ahmadpour was arrested shortly afterward.

Hengaw has also learned that security forces attempted to arrest Shabani at least twice in the month prior to his detention, but both attempts were unsuccessful.

Shabani has previously been arrested multiple times—in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022—for his civil activism, including campaigns supporting kolbars (cross-border porters) and labor strikes. He has faced prosecution and has twice been sentenced to prison terms.