Freedom, Urgent Medical Care, and Legal Rights for Kajal Rahmani

Addressed to:

The Honorable Head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of IranThe Honorable Prosecutor General of IranThe Honorable Head of the Judiciary of Kurdistan ProvinceThe Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of KamyaranThe Head of Iran’s Prisons OrganizationThe United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsThe United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in IranThe United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary DetentionThe International Committee of the Red CrossInternational and regional human rights organizations

29 June 202

We, the undersigned, express our deep concern over the physical, legal, and security situation of Ms. Kajal Rahmani, a Kurdish civil activist from Kamyaran, a former nurse at Sina Hospital in Kamyaran, and a member of a justice-seeking family in Kurdistan.

Kajal Rahmani is not merely another name in reports of arrest and detention. For years, she worked as a nurse in Kamyaran, and alongside her civil activism, she has directly experienced security pressure and intimidation. According to published reports, she has repeatedly been summoned and interrogated by the Ministry of Intelligence in Kamyaran and Sanandaj in recent years. In autumn 2019, under pressure from security forces, she was dismissed from her position at Sina Hospital in Kamyaran.

Kajal Rahmani also comes from a family that has spent years seeking truth and justice for one of its loved ones. Her brother, Jamal Rahmani, was killed by forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2018. In the years since, the Rahmani family has repeatedly approached security agencies in Kamyaran and Sanandaj to request the return of his body or information about his burial place, but they have received no answer. This history makes the recent arrest of Kajal Rahmani and members of her family more than an individual case. It raises urgent concerns about the right to seek justice, the right to know the truth, and the safety of families who pursue answers about the fate of their loved ones.

According to human rights reports, at dawn on Saturday, 6 June 2026, Ministry of Intelligence forces raided the family homes of Kajal Rahmani and her brother, Danial Rahmani, in Kamyaran, and arrested them without presenting a judicial warrant and with the use of violence. Reports indicate that during the raid, the entrance doors of the homes were broken, and officers initially entered the wrong apartment in the same building, an incident that caused one of the residents to go into shock and lose consciousness.

Isa Feyzi, Kajal Rahmani’s husband, a civil activist and former political prisoner, was also arrested after going to the Intelligence Office in Kamyaran to follow up on the condition of his wife and brother-in-law. Danial Rahmani, Kajal’s brother, is a computer engineering student at Islamic Azad University in Sanandaj. According to the most recent reports, there has been no transparent or official information about their condition, place of detention, or legal proceedings, and serious concerns remain about their denial of the right to access a lawyer and to meet with their family.

Following her arrest, Kajal Rahmani went on hunger strike in protest against her own detention, the detention of her family members, the disrespect shown by security forces during the arrests, and pressure from interrogators to build a case against them. According to published reports, after 18 days on hunger strike and following an in-person meeting with her family, she ended the strike at their request. However, her physical condition remains alarming, with reports of weight loss, low blood pressure, hand tremors, reduced mobility, and a severe drop in heart rate. It has also been reported that interrogators from the Intelligence Office rejected a request by prison medical staff to transfer her to a hospital.

We emphasize that even if charges have been brought, no authority has the right to disregard a detained person's health, dignity, and fundamental rights. Article 22 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran protects the dignity, life, property, rights, home, and occupation of individuals from violation. Article 32 states that no one may be arrested except by order of the law and in accordance with legal procedure, and that detainees must be informed of the charges and reasons for their arrest. Article 35 recognizes the right to legal counsel; Article 37 affirms the presumption of innocence; Article 38 prohibits any form of coercion to obtain confession or information; and Article 39 prohibits the violation of the dignity and honor of detained or imprisoned persons.

Under Iran’s international obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arbitrary detention, denial of fair trial rights, enforced uncertainty about the fate of detainees, pressure to confess or fabricate cases, and deprivation of adequate medical care constitute violations of fundamental human rights. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, also emphasize prisoners’ right to adequate medical care, respect for human dignity, and protection from prolonged or arbitrary solitary confinement.

In light of Ms. Kajal Rahmani’s alarming condition and the continued uncertainty surrounding the situation of her husband and brother, we, the undersigned, call on the judicial and security authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to:

1. Release Ms. Kajal Rahmani immediately and unconditionally, or, at a minimum, replace her detention order with a non-custodial measure so that she can exercise her legal rights in safety, with access to medical care and legal counsel.
2. Provide her with an immediate, independent, and specialized medical examination, and, if doctors determine that hospitalization is necessary, ensure her transfer to the hospital without interference from security agencies.
3. Immediately end any solitary confinement, pressure to confess or accept fabricated charges, degrading treatment, threats, insults, or unlawful restrictions imposed on her.
4. Guarantee regular contact with family, in-person visitation, and access to a lawyer of their choice for Kajal Rahmani, Isa Feyzi, and Danial Rahmani.
5. Officially and transparently inform the family and lawyers of Isa Feyzi and Danial Rahmani about their place of detention, physical condition, charges, and the status of their cases.
6. Release Isa Feyzi and Danial Rahmani immediately if there are no clear legal grounds that can be examined through a fair judicial process.
7. Conduct an independent and impartial investigation into reports of arrest without a judicial warrant, violent entry into homes, threats against the family, denial of medical care, and obstruction of medical transfer, and hold accountable those responsible for violating the rights of the detainees.
8. Ensure that the Rahmani family is not subjected to pressure, threats, summonses, or prosecution because of their pursuit of justice, their efforts to learn the truth about Jamal Rahmani’s fate, or their public reporting on the condition of detained family members.

We also call on international human rights and humanitarian organizations to urgently follow the cases of Kajal Rahmani, Isa Feyzi, and Danial Rahmani, request official explanations from the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and use all available legal, diplomatic, and humanitarian means to prevent irreparable harm to their lives, health, and rights.

Protecting a detainee's life and health, ensuring access to legal counsel, ending enforced uncertainty for families, prohibiting pressure to confess, and respecting human dignity are minimum standards from which no case should be exempt. Kajal Rahmani must be released, she must receive the medical care she needs, and her family must be freed from the cycle of pressure, uncertainty, and intimidation.

Respectfully,The undersigned

Date: 29 June 2026

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