HANA Human Rights Organization strongly condemns the killing of Chiman Hosseinzadeh, a Kurdish citizen from Bukan, and her 15-year-old daughter Sara Yousefi in the Sarpol province of Afghanistan, expressing its profound grief over this crime.
According to information received, Chiman Hosseinzadeh had married an Afghan citizen approximately twenty years ago and was living in the village of Ghalduri in the Kohistan district of Sarpol province. She and her teenage daughter were killed by Mufti Mohammad Allah, the head of the Taliban’s Hajj and Endowments Department in that district.
According to available information, this Taliban official had previously sought to marry Sara Yousefi. On May 8, 2026, he reportedly went to the family’s home and attempted to forcibly take Sara away, but was met with resistance from her mother. Following this resistance, Mufti Mohammad Allah shot and killed both Chiman Hosseinzadeh and her daughter. It has also been reported that the perpetrator was subsequently arrested by Taliban forces.
This case is a clear example of a violation of the right to life, personal security, and human dignity of women and girls, and constitutes an act of gender-based violence and abuse of power. The mere arrest of the suspect cannot substitute for an independent, effective, and transparent investigation into all dimensions of this crime and a guarantee of criminal accountability for those responsible.
Despite HANA Human Rights Organization’s efforts to obtain further information, no additional details have yet been made available regarding the judicial proceedings, the status of the suspect, the charges brought against him, or the steps taken to ensure justice in this case.
HANA Human Rights Organization also expresses serious concern over the silence and inaction of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s authorities in relation to this case. Chiman Hosseinzadeh was an Iranian citizen, and Iranian authorities were obligated, regardless of where the crime occurred, to utilize all available legal, consular, and diplomatic means to follow up on the victims’ situation, demand the truth, ensure accountability, and protect the rights of their family.
To date, however, no effective action or official statement has been observed from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s authorities in connection with this case. This is all the more troubling given that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Taliban government have developed extensive political and diplomatic ties in recent years, and Iranian authorities were expected to leverage this relationship to pursue the case legally and defend the rights of one of their own citizens.
The silence of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s authorities in the face of the killing of a Kurdish Iranian woman and her teenage daughter raises serious questions about the extent to which these institutions honor their protection obligations toward Iranian citizens, particularly Kurdish citizens. The failure to effectively pursue this case may be seen as an instance of the state’s neglect of its duty to protect its own citizens, a duty that, under the fundamental principles of international law and the inherent responsibilities of states, forms a cornerstone of the protection of nationals abroad.
While expressing its condolences to the family and relatives of Chiman Hosseinzadeh and Sara Yousefi, HANA Human Rights Organization calls for full transparency regarding this crime, a guarantee of fair judicial proceedings, accountability for the perpetrators, and an official explanation from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s authorities regarding the steps taken, or the reasons for their failure to effectively pursue this case.