On July 9, 2024, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), along with the Kurdistan Human Rights Association Geneva (KMMK-G), submitted a detailed report to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD). This report raises serious concerns about the arbitrary arrest and detention of five members of the Nojin Cultural Association by Iranian state authorities – Idris Manbari, Serwe Pourmohammadi, Seywan Ebrahimi, and Soma Pourmohammadi and Zara Mohammadi. These individuals were targeted for their association with Nojin and their efforts to uphold Kurdish cultural identity.
Since its establishment in 1998, Nojin has faced relentless pressure and intimidation from security forces, with many members being frequently arrested, harassed, and subjected to prolonged interrogations. In 2012, five members of Nojin Organization were arrested and the Nojin branch in the city of Kamiyaran was shut down. Zara Mohammadi was arrested, tried, and jailed in 2019, and over the course of 2022 and 2023, other members of the Nojin Cultural Association – Idris Manbari, Serwe Pourmohammadi, Seywan Ebrahimi, and Soma Pourmohammadi were arrested and tried on false accusations of “forming an illegal group” and “spreading propaganda against the regime”.
This most recent coordinated series of arrests, which occurred within the span of a week, reflects a pattern of targeted legal actions against individuals affiliated with the Nojin Association. The charges brought against these individuals under the pretext of “maintaining public order and security” are indicative of the government’s strict approach to curbing the influence of the Nojin Association within the Kurdish community using broad penal laws.
In May 2022 the UNPO and KHHK-G submitted the case of Zara Mohammadi (director of the Nojin Cultural Association) to the WGAD. After analyzing the case, the Working Group found that “Ms. Mohammadi was deprived of her liberty on discriminatory grounds, on the basis of her ethnicity and language. Her detention therefore violates articles 2 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2 (1) and 26 of the Covenant and is therefore arbitrary according to category V.” Furthermore, “The Working Group observes a pattern of harassment against the Kurdish ethnic minority community in the Islamic Republic of Iran. […] between January and October 2021, close to 500 Kurdish individuals, including teachers, border couriers, artists, human rights and environmental rights defenders, journalists, artists and lawyers, were arrested or detained”.
While the Working Group’s Opinion played a pivotal role in securing Zara Mohamadi’s release from prison, the Islamic Republic of Iran has since intensified its suppression of the Kurdish community, including Zara Mohamadi’s husband and colleagues at the Nojin Cultural Association, the focus of this submission.
Given this context, we are concerned that this wave of repression against family members and colleagues constitutes an act of reprisals by the Iranian authorities for Zara Mohamadi’s engagement with the UN human rights mechanisms.
As was the opinion of the Working Group in Zara’s case, we are again concerned that the arrest and detentions of Idris Manbari, Serwe Pourmohammadi, Seywan Ebrahimi, and Soma Pourmohammadi are arbitrary and must be examined by the WGAD. We are particularly concerned about Seywan Ebrahimi, who from December 30th 2023 until present has been held at the Sanandaj Central Prison, serving the imposed sentence.
We look forward to the consideration of our recommendations by the United Nations Working Group, recognising the importance of addressing the serious issue of intimidation and arbitrary detention of human rights defenders in Iran and around the world. The UNPO remains committed to our efforts to raise awareness of the discrimination facing minoritised communities and advocate for their rights at the international level.
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