Fate of Four PJAK and Two KJAR Members Remains Unknown After Arrest in Iran
The fate of Idris Faqehi, Mohsen Ghaderi, Sirwan Habibi and Khaled Barzanji, four members of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), and Zahra Pirdehghan and Parvin Rasegh Ghezelbash, two members of the East Kurdistan Free Women’s Society (KJAR), remains unknown.
According to statements from the two organizations and reports by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, their families have repeatedly sought answers but received no clear information about their loved ones’ whereabouts, health or fate.
In its latest report, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network said there was still no information about Khaled Barzanji, who was arrested by IRGC forces on 10 July 2026 in Uchtapeh village near Bukan. His family has been unable to contact or visit him since his arrest. Security and judicial authorities have also denied knowing about his detention or where he is being held.
In a statement about Barzanji, PJAK said the Iranian government was directly responsible for his life, health and safety. The party demanded the immediate disclosure of his whereabouts and legal status, saying the continued secrecy had deepened concerns about his health and detention conditions.
Idris Faqehi has been missing since 24 July 2021, when he was wounded and detained by IRGC forces near Bukan. More than five years later, his fate remains unknown. In its recent open letter, PJAK named him among its members who have been subjected to enforced disappearance following their arrest.
Mohsen Ghaderi was arrested by IRGC intelligence agents on 22 June 2025 in the Hangeh Zhale border area near Baneh. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, the IRGC told his family that he had been killed in a clash. However, a man arrested alongside him and later released said there had been no clash and that both men had been taken into detention. The network reported that Ghaderi was last seen at the Shahramfar detention center in Sanandaj in late summer 2025.
Sirwan Habibi was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents in Kamyaran in the early hours of 9 September 2026. Citing witnesses, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported that agents used violence against him during his arrest. Despite his family’s visits to security offices and courts in Kamyaran and Sanandaj, they have received no clear information about his condition or where he is being held.
Zahra Pirdehghan and Parvin Rasegh Ghezelbash were arrested by IRGC intelligence agents in Urmia on 25 and 28 June 2026, respectively. KJAR confirmed that both women were its members and said they were in Urmia to carry out political activities related to women’s issues. Their families’ repeated inquiries have also failed to establish their condition or whereabouts.
In an open letter dated 13 October 2026, PJAK called on Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and Human Rights Watch to take urgent action to clarify the fate of Idris Faqehi, Mohsen Ghaderi and Sirwan Habibi. The party said the three had been denied access to lawyers and that their families had been pressured to stop seeking answers. It called for international action to end enforced disappearances and hold those responsible accountable.