Kurdistan/Iran; Kurdish activist and former political prisoner has been summoned to Revolutionary Court in Sine (Sanandaj)

Afshin Hosseinpanahi, a civil activist and former political prisoner, has been summoned to the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Sine (Sanandaj).

According to the summons he received, this civil activist is required to appear at the court on April 28, 2025. The summons issued to Mr. Hosseinpanahi does not specify the charges against him.

On Friday, February 27, 2025, Afshin Hosseinpanahi was temporarily released from custody upon posting bail, pending the conclusion of legal proceedings. During his detention, he was interrogated at the “Shahramfar” detention center in Sine (Sanandaj) and was denied access to legal counsel and visitation rights with his family.

Mr. Hosseinpanahi was arrested on January 8, 2025, when security forces stormed his workplace without presenting a judicial warrant. Subsequently, they raided and conducted a search of his residence. Mr. Hosseinpanahi had previously been summoned to the intelligence agency.

Over the past 15 years, Afshin Hosseinpanahi has been repeatedly arrested and summoned by the Iranian intelligence agencies. According to a reliable source, he has reportedly been subjected to torture and mistreatment during his periods of detention.

This Kurdish civil activist was arrested on July 26, 2017, in his own home by security forces three days after the detention of late Ramin Hosseinpanahi a Kurdish political prisoner who was executed in 2018. In May 2022, he was sentenced to one year in prison by the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, presided by Judge Saidi, on charges of "propaganda against the Iranian regime and campaigning for the opposition."

Afshin Hosseinpanahi someone with a record of joint efforts with environmental organizations, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in November 2017 by the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, presided by Judge Saidi, for "organizing Nowruz celebrations and collaborating with a Kurdish opposition parties." He eventually received a parole and was released from Prison on April 26, 2020, after serving nearly three years of his sentence.

In 2011, Mr. Hosseinpanahi was also sentenced to one year in prison on the charges of "propaganda against the regime" for pursuing the death of his brother, Ashraf Hosseinpanahi, which lost his life under suspicious circumstances. He was released after serving the imposed term.