September 24, 2026 — On Monday, September 21, 2026, state television in Ilam Province broadcast a video featuring forced confessions from two Kurdish youths from Asmanabad, Chardavol County, identified as Yaser Havasi-Zadeh and Younes Bekri. The broadcast comes after more than a month of enforced disappearance, during which both detainees have been held in secret detention without access to legal counsel or a single phone call to their families. Sources close to the men state that the confessions were extracted under severe torture and describe the video as a staged security fabrication, expressing grave fears regarding their fate and the potential imposition of heavy judicial sentences.

The forced confession video, framed as a "documentary" produced by the IRGC Intelligence Organization of Ilam Province, alleges that the detainees were involved in "violent actions and disrupting public security." Following staged scenes of arrests and blurred street footage of unidentified individuals without specified dates or locations, the video shows two young men with digitally obscured faces forced to state that they had "links to Kurdish opposition parties." They were coerced into confessing to arrests stemming from "posting Instagram stories, issuing protest calls, and insulting the Islamic Republic during the 2022 uprising," as well as "holding meetings related to the 2025 protests."

Informed sources confirmed to Kurdpa that the two individuals shown are Yaser Havasi-Zadeh (wearing black) and Younes Bekri (wearing khaki), emphasizing that neither was arrested at home. According to these sources, the individual shown being arrested inside a vehicle at the beginning of the video is neither of the two men, and the scene is entirely staged. A third individual, Rouhollah Gholami, was arrested alongside Bekri and Havasi-Zadeh on August 24, 2026.

Additionally, the video incorporates footage from the August 23, 2026, arrest of Amin Naseri, a local Kurdish singer from Asmanabad. During Naseri's arrest in a public space, local residents gathered in protest against his arbitrary detention. Security forces fired live ammunition into the air to disperse the crowd and shot Naseri in the leg before taking him into custody. Kurdpa’s sources verified that while the footage of the public protest is authentic, all accompanying arrest sequences are fabricated stagecraft.

While the propaganda video asserts that the arrests were conducted with "judicial authorization," Kurdpa’s sources confirm that all four individuals—Younes Bekri, Yaser Havasi-Zadeh, Rouhollah Gholami, and Amin Naseri—were violently detained without judicial warrants. Over a month into their arbitrary detention, authorities continue to deny them family visits, legal representation, and basic communication rights.

Sources close to the detainees highlight that all four are well-regarded local figures facing heightened security scrutiny. Amin Naseri is a popular local singer, while Bekri, Havasi-Zadeh, and Gholami are cultural activists who previously organized local Newroz (Kurdish New Year) celebrations in Asmanabad—activities that previously drew hostility and monitoring from intelligence agencies. Furthermore, Younes Bekri is a livestock farmer who has engaged in voluntary, self-directed environmental efforts to protect local oak forests from parasitic blights.

The broadcast also features footage of "confiscated weapons," claiming they belong to the detainees. Kurdpa sources dismissed these claims as staged fabrications, noting that the propaganda campaign aims to instill public fear and suppress civil activism in Asmanabad and broader Ilam Province.

During the coerced statements, one detainee was forced to name diaspora activists, including Sirous Rabiei-Beigi. Rabiei-Beigi, a Germany-based activist from Asmanabad who advocates for political prisoners from Ilam, told Kurdpa: "I am from Asmanabad and related to most of these detainees because we belong to the same tribe. Merely sharing a hometown and family ties is a absurd pretense used by intelligence forces to frame individuals." He firmly rejected all allegations put forward by the IRGC Intelligence Organization.

Background

  • August 24, 2026: Three Kurdish youths from Asmanabad (Chardavol County, Ilam Province)—Younes Bekri, Yaser Havasi-Zadeh, and Rouhollah Gholami—were arbitrarily arrested by security forces without a warrant and transferred to an undisclosed location.
  • August 23, 2026: Kurdish singer Amin Naseri was shot, injured, and detained by security agents in a public venue in Asmanabad.
  • All four individuals remain in incommunicado detention, completely deprived of access to legal counsel, medical care, and family contact, with judicial and security authorities refusing to answer family inquiries regarding their whereabouts.