Some eight Kurdish civilians have been held for alleged “espionage for Mossad” by the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Orumiyeh since November 2021.
The names of these civilians are Vafa Hanareh, Kamran Hanareh, Aran Omari, Ashkan Osmannezhad, Rahman Parhazou, Fakhreddin Dudkanlou, Hassan Omarpour, and Amir Moshtagh.
Vafa Henareh is still being held in one of the security detention centres in Orumiyeh. Other civilians were transferred to Orumiyeh Central Prison on 11 March 2022 after their interrogation process ended.
A source that spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) said: “One of these people had left Iran and fled to Turkey knowing that he might be detained. But he was detained by overseas forces of the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Turkey and returned to Iran.”
According to the source, the detainees are accused of security activities for Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel.
Taking confessions from a member of the IRGC, named Mansour Rasouli, and the burning of a car belonging to military officials are among the charges against them.
On 22 May, the IRGC announced the detention of a Mossad-linked group in Iran. The statement neither specified identities of the individuals nor the date or location of their detention.
However, the publication of this news, with a delay of several months, seems to be referring to the detention of these eight Kurdish civilians.
