On March 10, 2025, Iranian intelligence arrested 4 Kurdish women activists. They were taken into custody in Kurdistan Province, with the claim of their involvement in international Women’s Day events.
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), Leyla Pashaei and Sohyla Motaei were arrested in the cities of Iran, Saqqez and Dehgolan without any legal warrant. However, their exact location is still unknown.
Additionally, security agents raided Soma Mohammadzadeh’s shop in Sanandaj’s Almas shopping center. They arrested her without any legal notice. She was forcibly brought to a Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Sanandaj.
However, the arrest details of the fourth woman are still not known, and also her identity is not clear. These arrests raise many questions about the ability of the Iranian government in its ongoing crackdown on women’s rights activists and Kurdish communities.
The authorities have not provided any specific reason for detaining them. It adds to growing concerns about the lack of freedom of expression and the violation of women’s rights in Iran.
Kurdish activist Baran Saedi was detained by security forces at her residence in Sanandaj without any arrest warrant. They took her to an undisclosed location, and her whereabouts remain unknown. Her arrest is all part of a campaign against activists by the government, and her safety and whether she will suffer human rights abuses are concerns.
Some Previous arrests
- On September 23, 2022, Pashaei was arrested in Sanandaj. The arrest was made during the Women, Life, Freedom protests. After paying bail, she was freed on October 4, 2022
- During the same protest, Motaei was arrested twice. She was arrested on October 1 and November 12, 2022, and a few weeks later got released
On December 5, 2022, a court in Dehgolan sentenced her to:
- 18 months for disturbing public order
- 15 months for anti-government propaganda
- 13 months for spreading false news
- 9 months for supporting anti-government groups
- 5 months for resisting the police
- In February 2023, she was sent to Sanandaj Juvenile Detention Centre but was later released under amnesty
- She was arrested again on January 22, 2025, during a strike but was freed after a few hours. New legal cases were filed against her
- Mohammadzadeh has faced multiple threats and summons from security forces due to her activism
- Saedi was arrested amid demonstrations in Sanandaj on September 20, 2023. Before her release on bail, she spent two months in jail