Sanandaj; The release of Voria Moayed and Jamal Khodakarami after 96 days of detention, among the activists arrested in the January wave of repression
May 31, 2026; "Voria Moayed" and "Jamal Khodakarami", two civil activists from Sanandaj who had been arrested along with several other civil activists in this city during the wave of arrests related to the January 2026 protests, were temporarily released upon posting bail in April 2026, after 3 months and 7 days of arbitrary detention.
An informed source, while confirming this news, told Kurdpa: "Voria Moayed" and "Jamal Khodakarami", well-known civil activists from Sanandaj, were arrested on January 4, 2026, along with 8 other civil activists and former political prisoners in a targeted wave of arrests. These two civil activists were temporarily released upon posting bail on April 9, 2026, after 3 months and 7 days of arbitrary detention. According to this source, while a bail of one billion Tomans was initially set for the release of Voria Moayed, the judge of the case increased it to three billion Tomans.
From the time of their arrest until March 1, 2026, these two civil activists were under interrogation and arbitrary detention in one of the intelligence detention centers in Sanandaj. Subsequently, due to the emergency evacuation of this institution following missile attacks during the 40-day war, they were transferred to the quarantine ward and thereafter to the public ward of Sanandaj Central Prison.
Kurdpa's source says that the charges attributed to these two civil activists during the interrogation phase included "publishing lies with the intent to disturb public opinion", "disrupting public order and peace", "forming a group with the intent to disrupt national security", and "cooperation with opposition groups of the state".
On January 4, 2026, at least 10 civil activists and former political prisoners named "Keyvan Zandkarimi", "Shaho Mohammadi", "Jamal Khodakarami", "Khabat Asadi", "Arman Salimi", "Khaled Seifpanahi", "Ghaneh Khateri", "Bayan Farajollahi", "Dalir Eskandari", and "Voria Moayed" were arrested violently and without the presentation of a judicial warrant by security forces and were transferred to unknown locations.
Voria Moayed, a Kurdish citizen from Sanandaj, had also been previously arrested on May 19, 2022, in Baneh county along with four other citizens by the IRGC Intelligence and was subsequently transferred to an unknown location.
In the same regard, on Saturday, January 3, 2026, threatening text messages were sent to citizens, stating that any "activity in cyberspace and public spaces" would be considered an "action against national security and disruption of public order" and threatened citizens with prosecution and punishment.
