Five of the political prisoners in Kerman Prison are Kurdish women who have been arrested and detained for cooperation with or membership in dissident Kurdish parties.
They have been imprisoned for years without enjoying any leaves or having access to legal counsel. The five women are:
Farideh Khoshnam, 32, from Takab, has a Bachelor’s degree in legal studies. She was arrested on July 30, 2004, and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment, 80 lashes of the whip, and internal exile to Kerman Prison. Ms. Khoshnam was viciously tortured under interrogation at the Department of Intelligence’s detention center in Takab and seriously injured in the eye and legs.
Soudabeh Hassankhani, 31, a computer engineer from Bijar, was arrested in June 2004 and sentenced to 9 years in jail.
Hajar Piri, 33, from Naghadeh, was arrested in April 2007 and sentenced to 17 years imprisonment and internal exile to Kerman Prison.
Sohaila Minaii, 27, from Divandarreh, was arrested on August 10, 2015 in her city and sentenced to three years imprisonment and internal exile in Kerman Prison.
Afsaneh Bayazidi, student activist from Boukan was arrested in April 2016 and sentenced to four years in jail and internal exile in Kerman Prison.