Susan Hassanzadeh, a civil rights activist and Kurdish language teacher, has been sent to Orumiyeh Central Prison to serve a three-month prison sentence, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported.

According to KHRN, Hassanzadeh was summoned to Police Station No. 11 in Bukan under the pretext of addressing a complaint but was arrested upon her arrival and handed over to the Enforcement of Judgements Office of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Bukan on 26 November. 

After being detained for several hours, Hassanzadeh was ordered by the executive judge to serve her three-month sentence in Orumiyeh Central Prison.

On 8 October, Branch 101 of the Second Criminal Court in Bukan sentenced the Kurdish teacher to three months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state” without the presence of her appointed lawyer.

At the same time, Hassanzadeh was acquitted of “membership of opposition groups”.

Hassanzadeh, a resident of Bukan, was beaten and arrested by security forces on a street in the city on 15 May and was taken to solitary confinement in Orumiyeh Central Prison.

During her detention, she was taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh for daily interrogations and then returned to solitary confinement each night. 

On 12 June, she was provisionally released on bail of 8 billion rials (nearly 16,000 USD).

Hassanzadeh was denied both family visits and access to legal counsel throughout her detention.

A Kurdish language teacher for 17 years in Bukan and nearby villages, she has been repeatedly summoned and interrogated by the security services in recent years for her activism.