83 Arrested in June 2024 by Iranian Security Forces

Hengaw: Tuesday, July 2, 2024

According to data compiled by the Statistics and Documents Center of the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a total of 83 individuals were arrested by security forces throughout Iran in June 2024. The highest number of arrests was among Kurds, with 29 cases recorded.

Breakdown by nationality and gender:
    •    Kurds: 29 cases
    •    Balochs: 16 cases
    •    Turks: 10 cases
    •    Women: 8 cases
    •    Children: 3 case

These individuals were either detained or abducted by the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran during April.

Geographical Distribution of Arrests:
- West Azerbaijan province (Urmia): 16 cases (15 Kurds and 1 Turk)
- Sistan and Baluchestan province: 13 cases
- Kermanshah province (Kermashan): 8 cases
- Tehran province: 8 cases (3 Turks and 5 Persians)
- Razavi Khorasan province: 6 cases (1 Kurd and 5 Persians)
- East Azerbaijan province: 6 cases
- Kurdistan (Sanandaj) province: 5 cases
- Gilan province: 4 cases
- Kerman province: 3 cases (3 Balochs)
- Isfahan province: 3 cases (2 Lors and 1 Persian)
- Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province: 2 cases
- Khuzestan province: 2 cases (1 Arab and 1 Lor)
- Lorestan, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Semnan, Fars, North Khorasan, Chaharmahal Bakhtiari, and Bushehr provinces: 1 case each

Over 54% of those detained were Kurds and Balochs.

According to Hengaw's statistics, Kurds accounted for 35% of all arrests, with 29 individuals detained in June. Additionally, 16 Balochs were arrested, representing 19% of the total arrests, along with 10 Turks, equaling 12.5% of the total arrests.
 

Detention of Religious Minorities in May

The report highlights a decrease in the arrests of religious minorities in June. Eleven Sunni activists were detained, including seven Kurdish activists: Matin Mehdizadeh (Oshnavieh), Saied Ahmad Ahmadian (Salas-e Babajani), Hamed Abbasi (Sanandaj), Kaveh Seyedzadeh, Ako Zeynabi, Yousef Mowlai, and Esmaeil (all from Bukan). Three Sunni activists from Khaf were also arrested: Shamsoldin Motahari, Hossein Ahmad Shahidi, Fazel Moradi, and Golmohammad Mansuri. 

Additionally, two Yarsani Kurdish brothers from Sahneh named Pouria Menati and Shuja Menati, a Christian convert from Kermanshah named Farrokh Kakai, Mazhar Heydari, one of the Gonabadi Sheykhs from Shahr-e Kord, and Tahereh Norouzi, a Bahai activist living in Shiraz, were arrested in June by the security institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
 

Arrest of 8 women activists and 3 children in June 2024

According to statistics recorded by Hengaw’s Statistics and Documentation Center, in June, at least eight women activists were arrested, accounting for 10% of the total detainees. The detained women include:

    1.    Samira Nejatian from Tehran
    2.    Houra Nikbakht from Tehran
    3.    Saba Azarpik from Tehran
    4.    Hamideh Zarei from Rasht
    5.    Mahta Sadri from Rasht
    6.    Tahereh Norouzi from Shiraz
    7.    Maryam Mehrabi from Mobarakeh
    8.    Atefeh Rangriz from Damghan

Additionally, during this period, at least three children under 18 were arrested by the security institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Two of them are identified as Setareh Bakhtiarvand (11 years old) and Sogand Bakhtiarvand (8 years old), residents of Mobarakeh, and one as Amir Hossein Mir Baluchezhi, from Khash.

Arrest of Teachers and Students:

Security forces maintained pressure on educational professionals, arresting at least 2 students and 3 teachers or university professors. The detained educators include:

 1. Hossain Bagherinia from Mashhad
 2. Mostafa Rabati from Shirvan
3. Huora Nikbakht from Tehran

The detained students are:

 1. Mohammad Sharifi Nasab from Hashtrud
 2. Ehsan Faridi from Tabriz

 
Arrest of Media Activists:

At least five journalists and media activists were arrested in May, including:

 1. Yashar Sultani from Tehran
 2. Saba Azarpik from Tehran
 3. Mahta Sadri from Rasht
 4. Vahid Ashtari from Tehran
 5. Hadi Kasaizadeh from Tehran
 
 
Arrest of artists and writers:

In June, at least one singer named Milad Jalili from Tabriz and a writer from Ahvaz named Jafar Hamidi were arrested.
 

The identities of all these 83 cases have been recorded in the Statistics and Documents Center of the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. The use of these statistics is permitted with proper source attribution.