ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities on Saturday detained a Kurdish civil activist known for promoting Kurdish-language rights, amid ongoing crackdowns following the war with the US and detaining hundreds of people on politically motivated charges.
Mohammad Rezaei, a member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, was detained in the Kurdish-majority city of Sanandaj in Kurdistan province after being summoned to court, according to Kurdish rights groups.
Rezaei, originally from the Kurdish city of Dehgolan, had been ordered to begin serving a one-year prison sentence on charges of "propaganda against the state."
The Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, which has operated for nearly a decade with official authorization from provincial authorities, advocates for linguistic and cultural rights for Iran's Kurdish minority. Although Iran's constitution permits the teaching of minority languages, Persian remains the sole language of instruction in primary and secondary schools across the country, including in Kurdistan province.
Several members of the association have previously faced prosecution and imprisonment, including Kurdish language teacher Zara Mohammadi as well as activists Idris Menbari and Rebwar Menbari.
Mohammadi was sentenced to five years in prison in February 2021 after being convicted of "establishing a committee and group that is against the stability and security of the system." She began serving her sentence in January 2022 but was released after one year under a general amnesty.
Rezaei's detention comes as Iranian authorities continue a broad security crackdown. Thousands of people have reportedly been detained since the beginning of the year following anti-government protests in January and the six-week war of the US and Israel against Iran that began in late February.
Human rights organizations have warned that authorities may intensify repression in the aftermath of the conflict. Rights groups have long accused Tehran of using imprisonment and capital punishment as tools to suppress dissent, particularly among ethnic minorities such as the Kurds.
In a separate incident, Iranian intelligence forces reportedly arrested two Kurdish siblings, a civil activist, and a computer engineering student during coordinated raids in Kurdistan province.
The Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) said intelligence agents simultaneously raided the homes of Kazhal Rahmani and Danyal Rahmani in Kamyaran, allegedly entering without presenting judicial warrants before transferring the detainees to undisclosed locations.
According to Amnesty International, Iranian authorities have arrested more than 6,000 people since the outbreak of the conflict between Iran and the US-Israel alliance in February, including protesters, journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens.
Arrests have reportedly increased since an April ceasefire ended weeks of fighting, with authorities accusing thousands of detainees of sharing sensitive images and videos with foreign actors.
Meanwhile, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that Iran carried out 2,063 executions in 2025, the highest annual total recorded in more than three decades, raising concerns among rights groups about an escalating crackdown on dissent.
