The Revolutionary Court of Saqqez has sentenced Rahman Rahimpour, a Kurdish citizen from the city, to five months of suspended imprisonment for two years and a fine of 10 million tomans on charges of “propaganda against the state.” The ruling was communicated to him in recent days.
Rahimpour was originally arrested on January 29, 2025, by security forces without a judicial warrant and transferred to the Shahramfar detention center in Sanandaj for interrogation. He was later moved to Saqqez Prison and remained in custody until February 27, 2025, when he was released on bail pending trial. During this time, he was denied access to legal representation and visits from his family.
This is not the first time Rahimpour has faced prosecution. On August 12, 2020, he was arrested in Laleh Park, Saqqez, accused of “collaboration with a Kurdish opposition party,” and released on bail after interrogations. Later that year, in December 2020, Branch One of the Saqqez Revolutionary Court sentenced him to 10 months in prison for “propaganda against the state in favor of a Kurdish opposition party.” He began serving that sentence on July 3, 2021, and was released in December 2021 upon completion of his term.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly documented the use of vaguely defined charges such as “propaganda against the state” to criminalize peaceful political activity and expression among Kurdish citizens in Iran.