A total of 91 mostly Kurdish oppositionists based in Iraq were reported to have been killed by the Iranian regime in 1997, as a result both of targeted killings and armed clashes. Mollah Ahmad Khezri and Majid Sulduzi, Iranian Kurds who had fled to Iraq in 1992, were reportedly handed over to the Iranian authorities by members of the Kurdish Revolutionary Hizbullah after they were abducted at a check-point in Iraqi Kurdistan. Iranian officials deny having information on their whereabouts. Sarkuhi was rearrested in late January 1997 and sentenced to one year in prison. He was released early in 1998.
Iranian prisons hold thousands of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience.
Some are detained without charge or trial. Others are serving long prison sentences after unfair trials. At least three senior religious figures have reportedly been kept under house arrest and their followers detained and tortured. The religious leaders opposed government policies, such as the absolute authority of Iran's supreme spiritual leader, or criticized human rights violations. The journalist Akbar Ganji was arrested in December 1997 on charges of insulting the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.