Politics

Wounded Peshmerga's destiny remains unclear

Two months after being shot and arrested, Ramin Hossein Panahi is still in custody of Iranian intelligence agency and his family are kept unaware of his health condition and location, family says.

Ava Homa 2017/08/29 17:25

kurdistan RaminHosseinPanahi Komala IranianKurds Rojhelat

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) - Two months after being shot and arrested, Ramin Hossein Panahi is still in the custody of the Iranian intelligence agency, and his relatives are kept unaware of his health condition and location, the family said.

On June 23, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran shot three members of Komala, a Kurdish opposition group, dead and took an injured Ramin Hossein Panahi into custody.

Hossein Panahi, who was shot three times, was reportedly transported to a hospital in Sanandaj, the provincial capital of Kurdistan, but was then taken into custody half an hour later and before receiving proper treatment.

Two of the detainee's brothers and several cousins were arrested in a raid and simply by association to the man, shortly after the ambush on Peshmerga in the Kurdish region of Iran, also known as Rojhelat.

The relatives and one of the brothers, Abbas Hossein Panahi, were released this week after meeting their costly bails.

His other brother, Afshin Hossein Panahi, however, is still held captive and was transported to Sanandaj prison, said the family.

The Hossein Panahi family has lost several members in the past few years to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s suppression of the Kurdish opposition. They are currently grieving the loss of one of their sons, Sabah Hossein Panahi, while overwhelmingly anxious about the fate of their missing and injured child, Ramin, and the imprisoned one, Afshin.

Amnesty International called on Iran to immediately reveal the fate and whereabouts of the five Kurdish men who have been subject to forced disappearance.

"Enforced disappearance is a crime under international law and places individuals at serious risk of extrajudicial execution, torture, and other gross human rights violations," Amnesty International said.

Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran-Geneva (KMMK-G) and other right groups are also urging Iran to release the political prisoner and provide him with medical attention.

Editing by G.H. Renaud