Kurdistan/Iran; detention order for an arbitrarily detained Kurdish citizen has been extended

The detention order for Shex Zahid Shahabi, brother of Sheikh Azad Shahabi, has been extended for an additional 30 days by the investigation office of the Revolutionary Prosecutor in Saqez.

In the early hours of Monday, March 24, 2025, Intelligence personnel in raided the “Path of Freedom” Xanqah (worship center) brutally assaulted and arrested Sheix Zahed Shahabi.

According to an informed source, Sheikh Zahid Shahabi has been transferred to one of the security detention centers in Sanandaj for interrogation. This individual has so far been denied access to legal counsel and visitation from family members.

The security forces confiscated Sheix Zahed Shahabi’s mobile phone and several personal belongings.

At 5 AM on the same date, security forces stormed the “Path of Freedom” Xanqah without presenting any judicial warrant, during which the family of Sheix Zahed Shahabi was subjected to assault, and disrespect by the Intelligence officers.

On Friday, March 14, 2025, at the Newroz celebration in Mount Jaqel, Sheix Zahed Shahabi addressed the public, reiterating the commitment to the martyrs and emphasizing unity and freedom alongside the participants, who chanted the slogan "Jin, Jiyan, Azadi" (Woman, Life, Freedom).

The Newroz bonfire for this ceremony was lit by Sheix Zahed, the brother of Sheix Azad Shahabi.

On the evening of Tuesday, October 14, 2024, Iranian security forces stormed the “Path of Freedom” Xanqah in Saqqez due to inscription of the word "martyr" and a Kurdish poem on the tombstone of Sheix Azad Shahabi and assaulted several family members and devotees of the Xanqah.

On July 18, 2024, Sheix Azad Shahabi, a prominent figure in Sufism in Kurdistan, was killed along with two associates, Payman Mohammadi and Perwiz Rahimpanah, at his Xanqah in the city of Saqqez by unidentified armed individuals.