On Saturday, August 3, 2024, Sorayya Qaytaran, a resident of Kani Mala village near Piranshahr in northwestern Iran, was arrested and transferred to the Central Prison of Urmia to serve a nine-month sentence.
Previously, the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Mahabad, also in northwestern Iran, had sentenced her to nine months in prison. The court convicted her of “collaborating with a Kurdish opposition party against the Iranian government.”
Sorayya Qaytaran was initially arrested on Monday, June 26, 2023, without a warrant by security forces. After interrogation, she was moved from a security detention center to the women’s ward of Urmia Prison.
On Sunday, July 16, 2023, about a month after her arrest, Sorayya Qaytaran was temporarily released on bail pending her trial. However, the legal proceedings continued, ultimately leading to her prison sentence and its enforcement.
The arrest and imprisonment of individuals on charges of collaborating with opposition parties, often without sufficient evidence, is widely regarded as a violation of human rights and freedom of expression. Sorayya’s initial arrest without a judicial warrant contradicts legal and judicial principles.
