ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian security forces have detained a couple from Iran's Kurdish-majority western regions (Rojhelat), a Norway-based human rights monitor reported Tuesday, noting the couple were taken without a warrant and that the husband had previously been detained for his participation in the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" protest movement.
Rashed Emami and his wife Shler Modirzadeh were "forcefully detained without authorities presenting a warrant," Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported, adding that the couple's home was raided by Iranian intelligence forces.
The married couple from the city of Paveh in Kermanshah province work as surveying engineers, and Rashed is also known as a Kurdish artist.
The rights watchdog emphasized on Tuesday that the reason for the couple's detention, charges against them, and their whereabouts remain unknown, highlighting that Emami had previously been arrested for his participation in the nationwide pro-women protests that swept across Iran in 2022.
The "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement was triggered by the September 2022 death of Iranian Kurdish woman Zhina (Mahsa) Amini while in the custody of Tehran's morality police for allegedly wearing a loose hijab.
The 22-year-old's controversial death quickly snowballed into nationwide protests against the regime's establishment, which persisted for months and left more than 500 people killed and at least 20,000 others arrested.
In recent months, Iranian authorities have come under fire for fast-tracking trials and executing dozens of individuals linked to the pro-reform protests earlier this year, as well as others whom Tehran accuses of collaborating with the United States and Israel during the six-week Iran war.
According to Hengaw, Tehran executed at least 224 prisoners between March and July on charges frequently involving the elusive offenses of baghi, armed rebellion, and moharebeh, enmity against God.
Around 45 of the executions targeted political prisoners arrested during the protests or conflicts, the watchdog added, as rights groups warn additional protesters and political prisoners could face severe sentences in coming months.
The United Nations human rights chief said in late April he was "appalled" by the surge in executions in Iran, further slamming Iranian authorities for arresting thousands of individuals during the same period.
“I am appalled that - on top of the already severe impacts of the [Iran-Israel-US] conflict - the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities in harsh and brutal ways,” Volker Turk then stated.
He further noted that even in times of war, “core, non-derogable rights - such as protection against arbitrary detention and the right to a fair trial - must be respected,” urging Tehran to “halt all further executions, establish a moratorium on the use of capital punishment, fully ensure due process and fair trial guarantees, and immediately release those arbitrarily detained.”
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