PJAK Member Missing 12 Days After Intelligence Arrest

Sirwan Habibi, a member of the Kurdistan Free Life Party, remains unaccounted for twelve days after agents from the Ministry of Intelligence detained him in Kamyaran. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reports that despite repeated inquiries by Habibi’s family at local offices and courts in both Kamyaran and Sanandaj, officials have consistently denied any knowledge of his arrest or whereabouts.

The absence of a registered judicial case in either city has intensified concerns regarding his condition. According to witnesses in the Besat neighborhood, the detention occurred during a chaotic operation on the night of September 8, involving a high-speed chase and a collision that left Habibi injured before he was forcibly taken into custody.

Witnesses describe violent night raid

Residents of Kamyaran’s Besat district provided details to researchers, stating that dozens of civilian vehicles with tinted windows surrounded several streets in the area on the evening of September 8. At approximately 01:00 local time on September 9, agents began pursuing Habibi as he rode a motorcycle. Witnesses reported that one of the vehicles struck his motorcycle at high speed, causing it to overturn, after which agents used physical force to subdue him.

Bystanders who attempted to assist Habibi and called the police emergency number were dispersed by plainclothes forces who fired into the air. One witness noted that a responding police patrol was blocked by security agents, who claimed the situation was a security matter and forced the officers to withdraw. Habibi was then beaten, had his face covered with a cloth, and was placed into a Samand car before being transported away.

Shift in detention protocols observed

In a statement issued on September 14, the Kurdistan Free Life Party asserted that Habibi was carrying out an organizational mission and was unarmed when detained. The party confirmed that his fate remains unknown. This incident occurs against a backdrop of changing security practices in the region, as noted by human rights observers.

Prior to recent US and Israeli air strikes on Iranian facilities, individuals arrested by intelligence agencies in Kurdistan Province were typically taken to detention centers in Sanandaj for interrogation. However, following the attacks on these sites, security agents have reportedly shifted to using secret detention facilities and solitary confinement in local prisons, complicating efforts to track detainees.

Uncertainty over judicial proceedings

The lack of transparency surrounding Habibi’s case has raised questions about the legal status of his detention. With no formal charges filed and no judicial record available in the relevant courts, his family continues to seek clarity from authorities who maintain that no arrest has taken place. This disconnect between witness accounts and official denials remains a central point of contention.