Soran Mansournia is a Kurdish human rights advocate, lecturer, and researcher from Rojhilat (Kurdistan Region in Iran). He works in the fields of Urban Studies and Political Geography at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. His academic and advocacy work focuses on state violence, spatial injustice, and the lived experiences of marginalized communities, particularly ethnic minorities in Iran.

Following the killing of his brother, Dr. Borhan Mansournia, by the Islamic Republic during the Bloody November protests (2019), Soran became an outspoken advocate for justice, accountability, and the voices of victims often neglected by mainstream media. He co-founded the Hiwa Foundation in Washington, D.C., together with fellow activists, to amplify Kurdish voices within the Iranian diaspora and to advance freedom, justice, and minority rights.

More recently, Soran’s research has concentrated on the spatial dimensions of repression in Iran, examining how urban planning, territorial control, and the organization of public space are used as instruments to suppress protest and dissent. In addition to his academic work, he has contributed articles and commentary on marginalized regions of Iran and the struggles of ethnic minorities to a range of media outlets, including CBC, BBC, Middle East Uncovered, The Press (New Zealand), and The Amargi.