Hersh Zandi-Nawgaran jailed to serve six-month sentence in Sanandaj

Hengaw – Saturday, November 15, 2025

Hersh Zandi-Nawgaran, a Kurdish civil activist from Sanandaj (Sine) and a former political prisoner, has been taken into custody to serve a six-month prison sentence and transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Saturday morning, November 15, 2025, the 41-year-old activist was arrested and transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison to begin serving his sentence.

Photographs circulating online show several civil activists escorting him to the prison entrance in a display of solidarity.

Zandi-Nawgaran stated earlier in a video message that he had been sentenced to six months in prison by the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court on charges related to “civil activism aimed at reducing violence in society.”

He was previously arrested on January 20, 2025, during a raid by Intelligence Department agents on his home, and was released on bail on February 19, 2025, after one month in detention pending the outcome of his case.

Zandi-Nawgaran is also a former political prisoner from the 2000s, having previously served a prison term on charges of membership in Komala Party.