The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and the Kurdistan Human Rights Association – Geneva (KMMK-G) welcome the recent decision by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) declaring the imprisonment of Kurdish journalist and Human Rights Defender Ms. Jina Modares Gorji in Iran arbitrary and unlawful.
The WGAD has called on the Iranian government to immediately release Jina, provide reparations, and ensure guarantees of non-repetition. This ruling follows a joint submission filed by UNPO and KMMK-G in September 2024, which documented the circumstances of her detention, including her arrest without due process, prolonged solitary confinement, and severe sentencing aimed at silencing her journalism and activism.
Why Jina’s Case Matters
Ms. Jina Modares Gorji is more than an individual case, she represents the struggles of Kurdish journalists, women, and cultural defenders in Iranian Kurdistan and Iran who live under constant threat of harassment and imprisonment.
- Journalists silenced: Independent Kurdish reporters face surveillance, intimidation, and criminalization under vague and fabricated “national security” charges. Their reporting on cultural rights, social justice, or government abuses is perceived and treated as a threat.
- Culture under attack: Despite Iran’s constitutional implicit recognition under Article 15, Kurdish language education and cultural expression are systematically suppressed. Festivals, associations, and artistic initiatives are restricted or banned outright. On 3rd September 2025, 58 Kurdish citizens were sentenced to prison for wearing Kurdish clothings in a wedding in Piranshar in Iranian Kurdistan.
- Women triply targeted: Kurdish women human rights defenders like Jina face harsher treatment, enduring not only repression as Kurds but also gender-based discrimination and as a member of a religious minority.
Her imprisonment is emblematic of a wider state policy of marginalization, designed to weaken Kurdish identity and prevent any form of peaceful civic mobilization.
The Broader Context of Kurdish Rights in Iran
The Kurdish population in Iran, numbering over 13 million people, have long been denied meaningful participation in political life, equitable access to resources, and recognition of their national, cultural and linguistic rights.
Since the Woman, Life, Freedom protests of 2022, repression has intensified:
- Dozens of Kurdish journalists and civil society activists have been detained.
- Peaceful protesters have faced disproportionate sentences, including the death penalty.
- The number of executions of Kurdish citizens has dramatically risen.
- Entire communities have been stigmatized as “separatist” or “terrorist,” a tactic designed to delegitimize legitimate claims for rights and justice.
International Recognition of Injustice
The WGAD opinion is a significant step in breaking this cycle of impunity. It affirms that Iran’s practices violate international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both of which guarantee the right to liberty, freedom of expression, and protection from arbitrary detention.
As Mercè Monje Cano, Secretary-General of UNPO, explains:
“Jina was not imprisoned for any crime, she was imprisoned for being a Kurdish woman who refused to remain silent. The UN’s ruling confirms what Kurdish people have always known: Iran’s repression is deliberate, systematic, and unlawful.”
For Taimoor Aliassi, Executive Director of KMMK-G:
“The world must understand that Jina’s case is one of many. Dozens of Kurdish journalists and cultural workers are behind bars. Every day that passes without international action emboldens the Iranian government to continue its campaign of intimidation and erasure.”
UNPO and KMMK-G call on the international community to:
- Press Iran to immediately release Jina Modares Gorji and all those arbitrarily detained.
- Monitor and document the ongoing persecution of Kurdish journalists, activists, and cultural figures.
- Hold Iran accountable for its systematic violations of international human rights law.
- Support Kurdish voices, ensuring their stories and demands are not silenced.
The case of Jina Modares Gorji is a test of whether international mechanisms can meaningfully protect those most at risk. Her voice, like those of so many Kurdish journalists, embodies the struggle for dignity, cultural survival, and the right to be heard.
UNPO and KMMK-G reaffirm their solidarity with Jina, with Kurdish people in Iran, and with all unrepresented peoples who continue to face repression simply for defending their rights.
See the full WGAD Opinion:
www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/detention-wg/opinions/session102/a-hrc-wgad-2025-15-aev.pdf
