Iranian authorities arrest Kurdish filmmaker, rights group says

Shafaq News/ Iranian security forces have arrested Kurdish filmmaker Reza Alaei ahead of the second anniversary of the state-sanctioned killing of Jina Amini, a Kurdish human rights organization said on Saturday.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, “security forces raided the family home of 43-year-old filmmaker and director Reza Alaei in Baneh, arresting him at the door of his residence.”

“Two days have passed, and his whereabouts remain unknown.”

A source told Hengaw that security forces detained the director without an arrest warrant and took him to an undisclosed location.

Alaei, a filmmaker from Baneh, “has produced several short and feature films. One of his films, titled "Zewye Pîsekan" (Polluted Lands), was selected to participate in the Cannes International Film Festival.”

On Friday, Iranian intelligence forces arrested two Kurdish men on Friday, Maziar Moradi, a 26-year-old wrestler, and Pedram Mahmoodi, 25, from Divandarreh, and transferred them to an undisclosed location.

According to the Hengaw Statistics and Documentation Center, at least eight Kurdish civilians from Divandarreh have been arrested over the past week.

Zafran Asfari and his brother Kamran from Marivan were also detained this week.

Iran has ramped up security in Kurdish areas as the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death approaches, fearing a resurgence of protests.

Amini, an Iranian woman of Kurdish origin, was arrested in Tehran on Sept. 13, 2022, by the morality police, tasked with enforcing the country’s strict dress codes. She died three days later, reportedly from blows to the head sustained while in police custody. Her death sparked nationwide protests, led by Iranian women who defiantly removed their headscarves.

The Iranian authorities denied being responsible for her death and disputes that she was beaten.