November 1, 2026; "Leila Pashaei" and "Baran Saedi," two women's rights and civil activists as well as former "Woman, Life, Freedom" detainees—who were held in arbitrary detention for 16 days in March 2025 in connection with organizing International Women's Day events and subsequently sentenced to 3 months of discretionary imprisonment on charges of "propaganda against the system" in a fabricated security case—are now facing a new charge of "assembly and collusion to commit crimes against internal/external security" in this case following a complaint filed by the Intelligence Department and the Prosecutor's Office of Sanandaj, and have been summoned to appear before the Sanandaj Court of Appeals.

An informed source confirmed this news to Kurdpa, stating: "Leila Pashaei," from Saqqez, and "Baran Saedi," from Sanandaj, while having been sentenced to 3 months of discretionary imprisonment on charges of "propaganda against the system" in their latest case at Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj and receiving no sentence regarding the charge of "forming an illegal group," learned upon reporting to the Sentence Execution Branch that the Intelligence Department had filed a new complaint against them in this case. Now, based on the complaint by the Prosecutor of Sanandaj and the Intelligence Department, alongside the attachment of new documents by this security institution to the case file, they have been summoned to Branch 4 of the Court of Appeals of Kurdistan Province, where a new charge under "assembly and collusion to commit crimes against internal/external security" has been introduced to the case.

The informed source added that from the time these two women's rights activists reported to the Sentence Execution Branch and learned of the new complaint filed against them in this case, the case proceedings remained in a state of limbo and suspension until early November 2026, when the summons notice from the Court of Appeals was served on the two activists, requiring them to appear before this branch for a hearing on November 24, 2026. Furthermore, this case has now been assigned to Branch 4 under the presidency of Judge "Karami," one of the notorious judges.

Prior Record of Arrests and Convictions of "Leila Pashaei" and "Baran Saedi":

2025–2026:

  • On March 10, 2025, "Leila Pashaei," "Baran Saedi," "Soheila Mota'i," and "Soma Mohammadrezaei," women's rights activists, were arrested by security forces in Sanandaj in connection with organizing the March 8 International Women's Day ceremony and transferred to an undisclosed location. Ultimately, on March 25, 2025, these two Kurdish activists were transferred from the detention center of the Sanandaj Intelligence Department to the quarantine ward of the Sanandaj Juvenile Correction and Rehabilitation Center upon the conclusion of interrogation stages. After 16 days of arbitrary detention and being deprived of the right to access legal counsel and family visits, they were temporarily released on a bail of 500 million Tomans each.
  • On May 26, 2025, "Leila Pashaei" and "Baran Saedi" were summoned to Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj and faced charges of "propaganda against the system" and "forming an illegal group." Furthermore, their bail amount was increased by an additional 100 million Tomans. Subsequently, these two were sentenced to three months of discretionary imprisonment on charges of "propaganda against the system" and were acquitted of the charge of "forming an illegal group."

2022:

  • "Leila Pashaei" was also arrested during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising on September 23, 2022, in Sanandaj by security forces and was released on bail on Tuesday, October 4, 2022. She has been repeatedly summoned by security institutions.
  • "Baran Saedi" was likewise arrested on September 20, 2022, during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising at her home by security forces and transferred to the Sanandaj Juvenile Correction and Rehabilitation Center. Following approximately two months of arbitrary detention, she was released on bail.

Organization of International Women's Day Ceremony (March 2025):

On March 7, 2025, a large gathering of women's rights and civil activists in Sanandaj—comprising 7 women's, mothers seeking justice, environmental, labor, and sports groups and collectives—organized a major ceremony commemorating March 8 on the occasion of International Women's Day, featuring the reading of a statement, equality slogans, and widespread participation by the public and activists.

In this context, a group of women's rights activists and labor activists were also threatened through summonses to FARAJA (Law Enforcement Command) and telephone calls from the Ministry of Intelligence, with written commitments exacted under pressure warning them that they had no right to participate in or organize any gatherings or conferences on the occasion of March 8.

Leila Pashaei, Baran Saedi, Soma Mohammadrezaei, and Soheila Mota'i were among the female activists arrested in connection with March 8.