By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj

Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan — 26 May 2026 

Kurdistan Region of Iran (Rojhelat) May 2026 Report

May 2026 brought a broad security crackdown across the Kurdistan Region of Iran (Rojhelat), with arrests, incommunicado detention, prison pressure, secret executions, cultural restrictions, and militarized street control.  

The Islamic Republic’s crackdown on Kurdish regions is entering a darker and more dangerous phase.

Across the Kurdistan Region of Iran — known by many Kurds as Rojhelat — May 2026 witnessed a sweeping campaign of arrests, disappearances, secret executions, cultural repression, and militarized street control that has alarmed Kurdish activists and human rights observers alike.

From Bukan to Mahabad, from Saqqez to Ilam, the pattern was strikingly consistent:

Night raids.
Warrantless arrests.
Incommunicado detention.
Torture allegations.
And mounting death penalty fears.

The crackdown suggests Tehran increasingly sees Kurdish political identity, cultural activity, and even music itself as potential security threats amid lingering unrest after the Mahsa Amini protests, widely known under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.”

Mass Arrests, Incommunicado Detentions, and Security Raids Across Rojhelat 

Arrests were one of the clearest features of the month. In Bukan, 67-year-old Asti Mohammadi was arrested during a night raid on May 11 after Ministry of Intelligence agents entered her family home without a warrant, confiscated personal belongings, and transferred her to a security detention facility in Urmia. She was denied family contact, legal representation, and medication, while her family was left without information on charges or her condition. In the same city, Seyyed Ali Ghoreishi, a 66-year-old Kurdish folk singer known for preserving Kurdish traditional music, was arrested on May 11 after security forces raided his home without a warrant. Days later, he remained incommunicado, without access to a lawyer or even a brief phone call with family. Additionally, another Kurdish man named Amir Yousofi, from the village of Salamat in Bukan County, was arrested on May 9 by Intelligence Department agents and transferred the next day to an Intelligence Department detention center in Urmia for interrogation, with no disclosed charges or confirmed place of detention.

Piranshahr also saw repeated arrests and disappearances into security custody. Mani Abdollahzadeh was violently arrested in the village of Darbakeh after security forces raided his family home without a warrant and moved him to an undisclosed location. Another Kurdish citizen, Abdollah Nabizadeh, was arrested on May 4 during a raid on his home in Chiane village, also without a warrant, and was transferred to an unknown location while his family’s efforts to learn his fate failed. Shahram Pasupish, also from Chiane, was arrested on May 13 after government forces raided his family home; his health condition, legal status, and place of detention remained unknown. On May 14, Sabah Bivareh, a 23-year-old from Kelekin village, was violently arrested by intelligence forces during a raid on his family home and transferred to an undisclosed location, with no charges announced. Vahed Soltani, a 21-year-old from Khorenj village, was arrested on May 8 and held without access to a lawyer, family visits, or even a brief phone call.

In Ilam Province, security forces targeted several Kurdish civilians. Mohammad-Reza Faryadi, from Sarableh, was arrested by Intelligence Ministry forces on May 13 without a warrant, and repeated family efforts to learn his place of detention or health condition produced no answer. Arshia Qeysarbeigi, also from Sarableh, was arrested during a May 5 raid on his family home and held in solitary confinement under severe physical torture. Reports said he suffered fractures to his jaw, nose, and teeth during the arrest, was denied medical treatment, and later faced “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth” accusations based on alleged forced confessions, charges that could place him at risk of a death sentence. In Dehloran, Abbas Mamousi was arrested on May 14 without a warrant and transferred to the quarantine ward of Ilam Central Prison; the arrest was reportedly linked to what authorities described as “expressing joy following the death of Khamenei.” On May 21, Ali Eskandari, a 41-year-old Kurdish man from Ilam, was violently arrested when Intelligence Ministry forces raided his family home without a court warrant and moved him to an unknown location.

Mahabad and Naqadeh cases showed the same pattern of detention without legal clarity. Siavash Azizi Aghdam, a Kurdish resident of Mahabad, remained out of reach for more than three weeks after his early-May arrest during a warrantless raid; he was denied legal counsel, while prosecutors and security offices refused to answer family inquiries. In Kuseh Kahriz village near Mahabad, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence forces detained 17-year-old Ehsan Khorramabad and 40-year-old Mikaeil Dudkanlou Milan, known as Shouresh, after armed agents stormed their homes without warrants and used intimidation and violence. Mamand Khodadadi, from Naqadeh, was held incommunicado after an early-May arrest, denied lawyer access, phone contact, and family visits, while the detaining authority and charges remained unclear. Alan Hekmatirad, a Kurdish English teacher from Mahabad arrested in April, was transferred in May to Naqadeh Prison after a period in a security facility in Urmia; authorities had searched his family home and confiscated his laptop, hard drives, and books, while he remained deprived of family visits and access to a lawyer of his choosing.

Cultural Figures and Teachers Among Those Arrested 

The crackdown also affected Kurdish cultural and educational figures outside the immediate Kurdish provinces. Forouzan Nojavan, an English teacher, blogger, and director of the Nojavan language academy in Urmia, was arrested on May 13 without a warrant and later transferred to the women’s ward of Urmia Central Prison after interrogation. Her detention was extended, bail was refused, and she was denied access to a lawyer of her choosing and in-person family visits. In Tehran, Majid Karimi, a Kurdish writer, poet, and volunteer Kurdish-language teacher from Quchan, was detained on May 14 after intelligence forces raided his home, searched the residence, and confiscated his phone and laptop. He was accused during interrogation of collaborating with Kurdish political parties. In Javanrud, Amir Sobhani, a Kurdish singer, was arrested on May 18 after agents stormed his family home without a warrant, searched the residence, and later transferred him to Kermanshah Central Prison, also known as Dizelabad, under a 10-day temporary detention order.

Cultural repression also intensified. In Bukan, artists, singers, musicians, and music-center owners were reportedly threatened by security institutions after the arrest of Seyyed Ali Ghoreishi and warned not to perform Kurdish epic or identity-oriented songs. Security officials reportedly described such works as “counter-revolutionary” and warned that artists could face arrest, prosecution, and security confrontation if they continued using them. The pressure on Kurdish music and language activity connected several May cases, including the arrests of Ghoreishi in Bukan, Sobhani in Javanrud, Karimi in Tehran, and Nojavan in Urmia.

Prison Pressure and Medical Neglect 

Prison pressure and denial of medical care remained central to the repression. Peshawa Aghapour, a 22-year-old former detainee from the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, was transferred from Urmia Central Prison to an Intelligence Ministry detention center in Urmia, raising concerns about renewed interrogation, torture, or a new case against him. He had been violently arrested in March, and his father reportedly suffered broken ribs during the raid. Ebrahim Mardani, a 48-year-old Kurdish man from Bukan, remained in legal limbo nearly five months after his December 2025 arrest, with security bodies blocking temporary release on bail; he had previously been prosecuted after guests at his child’s wedding wore traditional Kurdish clothing. Mojtaba Hajian, a 21-year-old Kurdish youth from Abdanan living in Tehran, remained disappeared  into detention four months after his January 26 arrest without a judicial warrant, with no information on his location, charges, or condition.

Secret Executions and Death Penalty Escalation 

The death penalty also escalated sharply. Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a Kurdish political prisoner arrested during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, was secretly executed at Urmia Central Prison without prior notice to his family or lawyers, and security bodies refused to return his body. His case included allegations of 38 days of physical and psychological torture, pressure to confess, denial of lawyer access during early detention, and serious procedural flaws raised by his lawyer. On May 21, Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour were secretly executed at Naqadeh Prison after being sentenced to death on “armed insurrection” charges linked to alleged membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI). Their families and lawyers received no prior notice, final visits were denied, and their bodies were not returned at publication time. Wider reporting documented at least 36 political executions in Iran over the previous two months, including four Kurdish political prisoners, Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, Nasser Bakerzadeh, Ramin Zaleh, and Karim Maroufpour, while six other Kurdish political prisoners, Pakhshan Azizi, Hatem Ozdemir, Yousef Ahmadi, Mohammad Faraji, Rauf Sheikh-Maroufi, and Mohsen Eslamkhah, remained under death-sentence risk.

Security activity in Saqqez reflected a broader militarized atmosphere. Reports described the reopening of old outposts, creation of new checkpoints, searches of citizens, vehicles, and mobile phones, and deployment of masked forces using private vehicles with covered license plates. Some checkpoints reportedly used semi-heavy weapons mounted on Toyota vehicles, including DShK and PKC weapons, while security and military equipment was moved into the homes of local pro-government operatives. Separate field reporting from Saqqez described nightly government-backed gatherings organized with municipal support, street blockades, forced shop closures, pressure on students to attend for “Defense Readiness” course grades, and reported financial incentives for some participants who joined nightly pro-government patrols.

Civilian danger in Kurdish areas also remained tied to military contamination. Peyman Rahmanpour, a 21-year-old man from Khorkhoreh village in Saqqez, was killed on May 7 after triggering a landmine in the highlands near the village. Landmines left from the Iran-Iraq War and from the Islamic Republic’s military campaigns in Kurdistan continue to kill and maim civilians in West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and Ilam provinces.

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