Kurdish man Vahab Khedripour jailed in Mahabad on anniversary of brother’s killing by IRGC

Hengaw – Monday, May 19, 2025

Vahab Khedripour, a 32-year-old Kurdish man from Mahabad, was arrested and transferred to prison on the anniversary of his brother Sohrab Khedripour’s death at the hands of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Authorities intentionally scheduled his imprisonment to coincide with the date.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Monday, May 19, 2025, Vahab was transferred to Mahabad Prison to serve a 10-month sentence on the alleged charge of “collaboration with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan.”

His brother, Sohrab Khedripour—a member of the same party—was killed by the IRGC on May 19, 2021. Four years later, his body has not been returned to the family, and the case is classified as an enforced disappearance. The timing of Vahab’s imprisonment is viewed as symbolic and as a form of psychological pressure on the family.

His transfer to prison comes as his father remains paralyzed and immobile following a car accident three months ago.

Vahab was initially arrested on January 29, 2025, after being summoned to the Intelligence Office. He was released on bail of 500 million tomans on February 19, after three weeks in detention.

In a separate incident, Vahab’s cousin, Shamal Khedripour, was also killed during the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement in Mahabad.