Saman Ghazali, a Kurdish journalist and civil rights activist from Mahabad, has been interrogated by security forces after being summoned by telephone to the Public Security Police of the Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA).

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported that Ghazali appeared before the Mahabad Public Security Police on 30 September, where he was questioned for several hours.

Ghazali was reportedly interrogated about the anniversary of the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising and for posting political content on his social media accounts, and was pressured to sign a written pledge promising to refrain from political and social activities.

He was previously arrested on 25 September 2022 after being summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence office in Mahabad, after which he was transferred to a detention centre in Orumiyeh in West Azerbaijan Province.

He spent two months in custody, during which he was interrogated about his reporting on the protests and strikes, and went on a hunger strike once in protest at his conditions. He was released on bail of 10 billion rials (nearly 10,000 USD) on 26 November 2022.

In December 2022, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad sentenced him to three months in prison, a further five months suspended for two years, and a one-year ban on working as a journalist on charges of “propaganda against the state”.

He was later transferred to Mahabad Prison to serve his sentence, and was released after three months, having had time already served taken into account.

Two years earlier, on 16 September 2020, he was also detained for three months over his political and journalistic activities.

The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad sentenced him to two years in prison for “propaganda against the state” and “acting against national security”, allegedly due to his links with a Kurdish opposition party.

He was released on 30 June 2021, having served nine months of the sentence.