Four members of Nozhin socio-cultural association sentenced to eleven years prison sentences each

Front Line Defenders condemns the targetting of members of Nozhin association and the sentencing of human rights defenders Soma Pourmohammadi, Serveh Pourmohammadi, Seivan Ebrahimi and Edris Menbari, as it believes it is in retaliation of their peaceful and legitimate human rights work in Iran.

On 13 May 2024, woman human rights defender Soma Pourmohammadi appealed a ten-year prison sentence issued by Branch 1 of Sanandaj Revolutionary Court on 16 April and announced to the defender on 21 April 2024. Previously, three other members of Nozhin received long prison sentences.

Nozhin is a socio-cultural association established in 2011, certified by the Iranian Ministry of Interior in 2013. The association raises awareness of the legal and cultural rights that ethnic groups are entitled to exercise in Iran, and has been active in promoting cultural education through the organisation and holding of Kurdish language classes in various cities in the region. Soma Pourmohammadi is a woman human rights defenders and former board members of the Nozhin socio-cultural association. The directors and members of Nozhin have been persecuted for their engagement with the promotion of social and cultural rights of the ethnic communities in Kurdistan province in Iran.

In February 2021, Zahra Mohammadi, the director of Nozhin was sentenced to five additional years in prison by Branch 4 of the Court of Appeal of Kurdistan Province. Previously, in July 2020, she was sentenced to ten years in prison on the charge of Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj for “forming groups and association with the intention of disturbing the national security.”

On 13 May 2024, Soma Pourmohammadi appealed a ten-year prison sentence issued by Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court on 16 April 2024. On 21 April 2024, Soma Pourmohammadi was informed that she has been sentenced to ten years in Dizel Abad prison on the charge of “forming groups and association with the intention of disturbing the national security” based on her peaceful human rights activities to promote socio-cultural rights via Nozhin association. Soma Mohammadi has been a member of the board of directors of Nozhin several time since its inception, last time during the COVID- 19 Pandemic.

In a separate case, on 4 March 2024, Branch 106 of Sanandaj Criminal Court II sentenced Soma Pourmohammadi to one year in prison on the charge of “disturbing the public order” due to her participation in “woman, life, freedom” protests which started in September 2022 in reaction to the killing of Mahsa [Jina] Amini in the custody of the Iranian morality police. The woman human rights defender was arrested on 18 January 2023 whilst present at Sanandaj Revolutionary Court, following up on the dossier of her husband Edris Menbari. Subsequently, on 13 February 2023, she was released on a bail of 10 billion IRR.

On 26 October 2023, Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court sentenced human rights defenders Serveh Pourmohammadi and Edris Manbari (Soma Pourmohammadi’s sister and husband) to ten years in prison on the charge of “forming groups and association with the intention of disturbing the national security”, based on their peaceful human rights activities to promote socio-cultural rights via the Nozhin association. The human rights defenders have appealed the sentence and are currently awaiting the verdict of the Revolutionary Court of Appeals. Previously, on 12 October 2023, Branch 106 of the Sanandaj Criminal Court II sentenced Edris Menbari to one year in Dizel Abad prison and forty lashes on the charge of “disturbing the public order” due to his participation in “Woman, life, freedom” protests. The only court session convened in absentia of the human rights defender and his lawyer on 1 October 2023. Edris Menbari was arrested on 18 December 2022, when his house was raided and his electronic devices were confiscated. Subsequently on 29 January 2023, he was released on a bail of 10 billion IRR. On 29 January 2023, woman human rights defender Serveh Mohammadi was arrested at the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court when she was following up on the situation of the detained members of her family.

In another example of the persecution of the Nozhin association, on 30 December 2023, human rights defender Seivan Ebrahimi (husband of Zahra Mohammadi) began serving a one year prison sentence on the charge of “disturbing the public order” due to his participation in “woman, life, freedom” protests issued by Branch 106 of the Sanandaj Criminal Court II. This verdict also contains 40 lashes. On 3 December 2023 in a similar arbitrary manner, Branch 1 of Sanandaj Revolutionary Court sentenced Seivan Ebrahimi to ten years in prison on the charge of “forming groups and association with the intention of disturbing the national security” based on his peaceful human rights activities to promote socio-cultural rights via the Nozhin association. This verdict, which contains an additional one year in prison on the charge of “propaganda activities against the state” for the defender, is based on his advocacy concerning releasing Zahra Mohammadi. Should this sentence be confirmed, the most severe single sentence of ten years of prison would be executable for the human rights defender under article 134 of Islamic Penal Code. On 3 January 2023, Seivan Ebrahimi was arrested for the first time while following up with the situation of his wife at Sanandaj Revolutionary court. He was arrested at his house on 18 January 2023 for the second time, and subsequently released on bail after 27 days of arbitrary detention.

The members and directors of Nozhin socio-cultural association, who have chosen to communicate only in Kurdish in protest against denial of the their rights to teach in their mother tongue, have been targeted with prosecution and subjected to humiliation during the different stages of their arbitrary trial, leading to long prison sentences.

Front Line Defenders condemns the sentencing of human rights defenders Soma Pourmohammadi, Serveh Pourmohammadi, Seivan Ebrahimi and Edris Menbari, as it believes it is in retaliation of their peaceful and legitimate work defending and promoting human rights in Iran, and raising awareness about the legal and cultural rights that ethnic groups are entitled to exercise in the country according to article 15 of the Iranian Constitution.

Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Iran to immediately quash the conviction against human rights defenders Soma Pourmohammadi, Serveh Pourmohammadi, Seivan Ebrahimi and Edris Menbari. Front Line Defenders also urges authorities to cease the judicial harassment of all human rights defenders in Iran and ensure their indiscriminate access to justice, and guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Iran are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions, including judicial harassment.