ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian authorities arrested 15 activists and teachers of minority languages, including 11 Kurds, throughout 2025, filing security cases against the instructors as Tehran intensifies its suppression of linguistic minorities.

Iran’s constitution allows the use of “regional and tribal languages” in the press and mass media, but authorities strictly regulate Kurdish cultural practices and symbols, cracking down on and arresting tens of language instructors annually.

“Kurdish, Turkish, Balouchi, Arabic, Gilaki, and other minority languages in Iran have faced denial and suppression since the formation of the modern nation-state,” the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization said in a report on Saturday, marking International Mother Language Day.

The group said the Islamic republic has intensified its policies by invoking “separatism” accusations and tightening control over institutions, effectively denying even the limited mother-tongue education rights outlined in its constitution.

“In such circumstances, the government has prepared the ground for arrest and issuance of heavy sentences for activists who even voluntarily try to teach the mother tongue to citizens,” it said. 

Those arrested included volunteer teachers of Kurdish, Turkic, and Balouchi languages.

Iran’s minorities also face persecution from authorities for practicing their cultural traditions and rituals, including dozens arrested on a yearly-basis in the country’s Kurdish-majority western region (Rojhelat) for participating in activities celebrating the Kurdish New Year of Newroz.

Additionally, at least 257 Kurds from Rojhelat have been killed in the security forces’ violent crackdown on the recent nationwide protests, including 20 minors and 19 women, Hengaw reported earlier in February.

Iran arrested 15 language activists, including 11 Kurds, in 2025: Monitor