According to information received by the Hana Human Rights Organization, Khaled Barzanji, a Kurdish political activist from Sanandaj and a member of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), has been subjected to enforced disappearance since July 10, 2026. Despite 108 days having passed since his arrest by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), no information is available regarding his fate, physical condition, or place of detention.
On July 10, IRGC forces surrounded a garden in the village of Uch Tappeh (Vash Tappeh), in Bukan County, and arrested Khaled Barzanji along with two other individuals. The identities of the two other detainees remain unknown. However, according to the information received, one of them was released after some time.
Over the past three months, Barzanji’s family has repeatedly approached judicial and security authorities in Bukan and Orumiyeh, but these institutions have refused to confirm his arrest or disclose his place of detention. Since his arrest, he has had no contact with his family and has been denied family visits and access to a lawyer. On October 22, PJAK also confirmed the arrest of its member and the continued lack of information about his fate in a public statement.
Under international law, an arrest carried out by state agents, followed by a denial of the detention or the concealment of the person’s fate or whereabouts, constitutes the core elements of enforced disappearance. Accordingly, the circumstances of Khaled Barzanji’s case meet the legal elements of enforced disappearance, a continuing violation that persists until his fate and whereabouts are established.
The authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran bear responsibility for accounting for Khaled Barzanji’s fate. They must immediately disclose his place of detention, ensure that he can communicate with his family and access a lawyer, and conduct an effective investigation into his arrest and the concealment of his fate and whereabouts.