Unknown fate of a Kurdish political activist

SELMAS, East Kurdistan, — Reza Melazade 25 years old from neighbouring of Selmas was arrested on August 2011 by the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on his way to Pawe, said International Campaign for Human Rights, and was taken to a detention of IRGC in Kirmashan. Ever since then no news about this Kurdish youth has been revealed, the Campaign added.

A source close to the family of Mr. Melazade said that they were notified of his arrest through a relative who was working with the security institutions in Kirmashan.

The source also revealed that the charge under which Melazade was arrested and interrogated is his membership in PJAK (Kurdistan’s Free Life Party).

When the family found out about the arrest they took a long journey from Selmas to Kirmashan attended both the Intelligence Service and Revolution Guards headquarters. But the officials in these institutions pretended ignorance of such a person being arrested in their institutes refusing to give out any information.

The father of Reza Melazade also travelled to Sine and Tehran referring to Intelligence Service and Revolution Guards headquarters in these cities probing for his son’s whereabouts, but none of these institutions are said to have revealed anything in relation to the whereabouts or the health condition of Mr. Melazade.

The same source, which works with the Security institutions, said that when Reza was brought to Security detention his body was injured by the blows he received under interrogations and his health was not good at all.

Knowing nothing about Reza for duration of one year, his family have raised the possibility that due to the charge held against him, membership in PJAK, he might have been killed under torture.