According to the Hana Organization for Human Rights, Pouria Naderi, a 29 year old Kurdish Yarsan activist from Kermanshah, was killed at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2026, as a result of direct gunfire from forces of the Kermanshah Intelligence Department.
This incident occurred in the area between the Darreh Derizh neighborhood (Mahdieh Township) and Jalalieh Township. According to Hana’s information, forces of the Intelligence Department had surrounded Pouria Naderi before opening fire. In the course of the confrontation, two members of state forces were also wounded. Nevertheless, details regarding how the confrontation began, whether the agents issued any warning, and whether his arrest might have been possible without resort to lethal force remain unclear.
Pouria Naderi had previously been detained, together with his two brothers, during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, and had been held for nearly three months at a security detention facility. Following his conditional release, and his refusal to report in response to subsequent summonses, he had been wanted by security agencies.
Hana emphasizes that the right to life is a fundamental and non derogable right. Even assuming the occurrence of an armed confrontation, the intentional use of lethal force is permissible only when absolutely unavoidable for the protection of life against an imminent threat. That a person is armed, or is being sought by the authorities, does not, by itself, authorize the taking of his life.
The killing of Pouria Naderi once again highlights serious concern regarding the continued pattern of arbitrary shootings by security agents and their effective impunity from accountability and punishment in the cities of Kurdistan.