A Kurdish activist and educator has received a five-year prison sentence in Iran’s Sanandaj province.
Sirwe Pourmohammadi, a Kurdish language teacher and a board member of the Socio-Cultural Nujin Association in Sanandaj (Sine), Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat), was originally handed a ten-year prison sentence by the first branch of the Sanandaj Islamic Revolutionary Court. However, the Kurdistan Provincial Appeals Court later reduced the sentence to five years of penal servitude. The revised verdict has been officially communicated to her legal team, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Organisation (KHRN).
In November 2023, Pourmohammadi was convicted by the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Karami, on charges of “forming or participating in a group or assembly” with the alleged intent to “disrupt national security”.
Pourmohammadi was first detained by security forces on 29 January 2023 while visiting the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj to follow up on the cases of other detained members of the Nujin Association. She was subsequently released on bail on 13 February 2023.
The Nujin Socio-Cultural Association, established in 2002 in Sanandaj, is dedicated to promoting the Kurdish language and advocating for environmental conservation.
Beyond its base in Sanandaj, the association has expanded its presence with branches in several cities across Iranian Kurdistan. Despite holding a legal operating license, its members, including Zara Mohammadi, another female Kurdish teacher, have faced numerous arrests in recent years under various pretexts.
