For more of the latest Kurdish news, see these sources:
ANF English https://anfenglishmobile.com/
Al-Monitor https://www.al-monitor.com
CHRI https://www.iranhumanrights.org/
Esta https://esta.krd/en
HANA https://hana-hr.org/
Hawar News https://hawarnews.com/en/
Hengaw https://hengaw.net/en
HRANA https://www.en-hrana.org
Iran Human Rights https://iranhr.net/en/
KHRN http://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en
KMMK https://kmmk-ge.org/
Kurdistan Press Agency https://kurdpa.net/en
Kurdistan24 https://www.kurdistan24.net/en
Rudaw https://www.rudaw.net/english
NEWS
- Iran Human Rights Calls for Strong International Response To Execution of Swedish-Iranian Habib Asyoud
- Iran executes Swedish-Iranian dual nationa
- Iran Human Rights Warns of Execution Spree; at Least 42 Executed in 10 Days
- A Kurdish Kolber injured by direct fire from the Iranian government forces
- YRK: Turkey has escalated its attacks on Asos region
- Prisoners’ families appeal to Biden as Iran tensions heat up
- 3 imprisoned Iranian female journalists win UNESCO award
- Soheila Hejab Released from Kermanshah Central Prison
- Organized chemical attacks on students continue; at least seven schools were targeted
- Sanandaj; Summoning 10 labor activists to the security institutions on the eve of International Labor Day
- Young women murdered in Kermanshah under pretexts of “Honor”
- Iran steps up hijab crackdown on women, shuttering businesses
- Sanandaj; Bahar Zangiband, a university lecturer, was banned from teaching at the Islamic Azad University
- Human Rights Watch: Security forces in Iran kill, torture, abuse children
- Criticism from the Hengaw Organization on the Performance of Human Rights Organizations Regarding Reports on the Human Rights Situation in Kurdish Cities
- Zhina Modaresgorji and Fariba Zandkarimi are under pressure in the solitary cell of the Iranian intelligence detention center
- Victims of popular uprising in Rojhilat remembered
- 10 more girls’ schools attacked in Iran: monitor
- Several students in Kurdistan University of Sanandaj were summoned for “ Not adhering to mandatory hijab”
- Iran invites Saudi King to visit Tehran
- Protests in Rojhelat, Iran over poisoning of female students
- Iran, Turkey invited to Baghdad to discuss water: minister
- A victim of child marriage killed under the pretext of “Honor” by her father and brothers
- Iran police begin crackdown on headscarf violators
- Women from Iran and Rojhilat make animated movie for the Green Left Party
- Explosion in Hawraman results in casualties
- Teachers’ union activist released on bail in Saqqez
- Iran rearrests Kurdish female activist Zina Madras Gorj
- Omid Shahmohammadi, a teacher from Diwandareh, was arrested and sent to prison to serve an imprisonment sentence
- Iranian authorities arrest activist Zainab Zaman
- Rapper held in Iran protests needs ‘urgent’ treatment: rights group
- Iranian schoolgirls poisoned in Urmia
- Iran border forces kill tradesman, injure another in Oshnavie
- PJAK co-chair: “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” revolution in Iran and Rojhilat continues
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Activists Detained, Workers Threatened as Oil Industry Workers Strike in Iran
- Iran: School Girls Continue to Face Chemical Attacks, Officials Refuse to Provide Security
- U.S. Continues to Press for Renewed Kurdish Oil Exports, as pro-Iran Elements Block Implementation of Accord
- Imprisoned Dissident Rapper Toomaj Salehi, Voice of Iran’s Protests, Faces Possible Execution
REPORTS
- Iran executes at least 582 people in 2022
- More than 200 Human Rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan in April 2023
- Execution of at least 21 Baloch citizens within five days in the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran
- April 2023: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
- Hengaw’s report regarding the financial assistance to the wounded protesters of the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” Revolution in Kurdistan
- Statistics of human rights situation in April 2023, in Kurdistan of Iran
- Annual Report of Human Rights situation Mar 2022 – Mar 2023
- Live updates: Annual Report of the Death Penalty in Iran 2022
———————
NEWS
- Iran Human Rights Calls for Strong International Response To Execution of Swedish-Iranian Habib Asyoud
06 May 2023 | IHR
Condemning the execution of Habib Asyoud who was subjected to torture following his abduction and sentenced to death in grossly unfair trials, Iran Human Rights calls for a strong response by the international community to this extrajudicial killing.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/5874/
- Iran executes Swedish-Iranian dual nationa
06 May 2023 | Al-Monitor
Iran executed on Saturday Swedish-Iranian dissident Habib Chaab for “terrorism”, the judiciary said, in the Islamic republic’s latest use of the death penalty against dual nationals.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/05/iran-executes-swedish-iranian-dual-national
- Iran Human Rights Warns of Execution Spree; at Least 42 Executed in 10 Days
05 May 2023 | IHR
At least two men were executed for drug-related charges in Qezel Hesar Prison. At least 42 people including 22 Baluch minorities were executed in the last ten days.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/5873/
- A Kurdish Kolber injured by direct fire from the Iranian government forces
04 May 2023 | ANF
According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, at around 10:00 AM on Thursday, May 4, 2023, Shahram Ishaghi, a resident of Nodeseh, was directly shot by the IRGC forces and seriously injured.
- YRK: Turkey has escalated its attacks on Asos region
04 May 2023 | ANF
The Defence Forces of Eastern Kurdistan (YRK) Command released a statement providing information about the ongoing attacks by the Turkish state on their areas.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/yrk-turkey-has-escalated-its-attacks-on-asos-region-67001
- Prisoners’ families appeal to Biden as Iran tensions heat up
03 May 2023 | Al-Monitor
The families of three US citizens held by Iran appealed to President Joe Biden on Wednesday to strike what could be a politically costly deal to bring their loved ones home.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/05/prisoners-families-appeal-biden-iran-tensions-heat
- 3 imprisoned Iranian female journalists win UNESCO award
03 May 2023 | ANHA
According to the Iran International website, the Iranian women journalists who won the UNESCO World Prize for Freedom of the Press 2023, Guillermo Cano, are (Niloofar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi, and Narges Mohammadi).
https://hawarnews.com/en/haber/3-imprisoned-iranian-female-journalists-win-unesco-award-h36197.html
- Soheila Hejab Released from Kermanshah Central Prison
03 May 2023 | HANA
According to the reports received by Hana’s colleagues: On Tuesday, 2nd of March 2023, Soheila Hejab, a Kurdish political prisoner, lawyer and human rights activist, was released from Kermanshah Central Prison.
https://hana-hr.org/content/2023057-soheila-hejab-released-from-kermanshah-central-prison
- Organized chemical attacks on students continue; at least seven schools were targeted
02 May 2023 | Hengaw
In the recent series of organized chemical attacks on schools, at least seven more schools in Saqqez, Kermashan, Tehran, Hersin, and Karaj were targeted. Many students’ health was jeopardized, and they were transferred to medical centers.
- Sanandaj; Summoning 10 labor activists to the security institutions on the eve of International Labor Day
01 May 2023 | HANA
According to the reports received by Hana Human Rights Organization: On Sunday, April 30, 2023, on the eve of International Workers’ Day, at least 10 labor activists … were summoned to the news headquarters of the Police Intelligence Department in Sanandaj and were interrogated.
- Young women murdered in Kermanshah under pretexts of “Honor”
30 April 2023 | Al-Monitor
According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Saturday, April 16, 2023, 19-year-old Donya Rezaei was killed in her family home located in the village of DarDerafsh Khanumabad, in the central district of Kermanshah.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/2023/04/young-women-murdered-in-kermanshah-under-pretexts-of-honor
- Iran steps up hijab crackdown on women, shuttering businesses
28 April 2023 | Al-Monitor
Iran’s authorities have expanded their crackdown on violations of the country’s controversial hijab laws, targeting shopping centers and private businesses that allow women customers without headscarves.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/04/iran-steps-hijab-crackdown-women-shuttering-businesses
- Sanandaj; Bahar Zangiband, a university lecturer, was banned from teaching at the Islamic Azad University
26 April 2023 | Kurdpa
Bahar Zangiband, a women’s rights activist and a physical education lecturer at the Islamic Azad University in Sanandaj, has been deprived of teaching at this university. According to an informed source who spoke to Kurdpa, despite an inquiry from the Ministry of Intelligence to return to work, the security forces of the Islamic Azad University in Sanandaj did not allow her to teach…
https://kurdpa.net/en/news/2023/04/11
- Human Rights Watch: Security forces in Iran kill, torture, abuse children
26 April 2023 | ANF
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement that “Iran’s security forces repressing widespread protests have unlawfully killed, tortured, sexually assaulted, and disappeared children as part of a pattern of serious violations.”
- Criticism from the Hengaw Organization on the Performance of Human Rights Organizations Regarding Reports on the Human Rights Situation in Kurdish Cities
25 April 2023 | Hengaw
The Hengaw Organization not only addresses the severe violations of human rights by the Islamic Republic but also consistently criticizes the performance of some human rights organizations, especially those with an Iranian focus, that produce reports on the human rights situation.
- Zhina Modaresgorji and Fariba Zandkarimi are under pressure in the solitary cell of the Iranian intelligence detention center
25 April 2023 | Hengaw
Zhina Modaresgorji, a Kurdish journalist, and Fariba Zandkarimi, a teacher, two renowned Kurdish women’s rights activists in Sanandaj are under pressure to obtain forced confessions in the solitary confinement of Iranian Intelligence in Sanandaj.
- Victims of popular uprising in Rojhilat remembered
21 April 2023 | ANF
The 22-year-old Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini was detained by the morality police on 13 September 2022 in Tehran on the grounds that she did not cover her head properly. She died in a hospital on 16 September, as a result of the torture she was subjected to.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/victims-of-popular-uprising-in-rojhilat-remembered-66762
- 10 more girls’ schools attacked in Iran: monitor
20 April 2023 | Rudaw
Ten more girls’ schools in Iran were attacked with chemicals on Thursday, according to a human rights monitor, with Amnesty International appealing to Tehran to allow an independent investigation into the attacks that have sickened thousands of schoolgirls since November.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/200420231
- Several students in Kurdistan University of Sanandaj were summoned for “ Not adhering to mandatory hijab”
18 April 2023 | Hengaw
Several female students of the Kurdistan University of Sanandaj were summoned by the security authorities of this higher education center and threatened to be removed from the university.
- Iran invites Saudi King to visit Tehran
17 April 2023 | ANF
As a further sign of rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh, Iran has invited Saudi King Salman to visit Tehran, according to what was announced by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/iran-invites-saudi-king-to-visit-tehran-66680
- Protests in Rojhelat, Iran over poisoning of female students
16 April 2023 | ANHA
Videos tapes showed Iranian security forces trying to calm people down and disperse them with false promises, while other pictures showed tear gas being thrown at people, according to the Women’s News Agency (NUJINHA).
- Iran, Turkey invited to Baghdad to discuss water: minister
16 April 2023 | Rudaw
Water levels in the Tigris River should improve in the next few days as Iraq continues to negotiate the vital water file with neighbours Turkey and Iran, the minister of water resources said on Sunday.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/160420232
- A victim of child marriage killed under the pretext of “Honor” by her father and brothers
15 April 2023 | Hengaw
According to an informed source, following the publication of a private video of Maryam Soleimani, Maryam’s father, after calling her home, along with his two sons, shaved his daughter’s hair from the bottom and after severely beating and torturing her, hanged her.
- Iran police begin crackdown on headscarf violators
15 April 2023 | Al-Monitor
Police in Iran said on Saturday they have implemented a plan to deal with women who violate the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/04/iran-police-begin-crackdown-headscarf-violators
- Women from Iran and Rojhilat make animated movie for the Green Left Party
14 April 2023 | ANF
Women and artists from Iran and Rojhilat (East Kurdistan) produced an animated film to support the Party of Greens and the Left Future (Green Left Party) ahead of the May 14 elections in Turkey.
- Explosion in Hawraman results in casualties
11 April 2023 | ANF
An explosion occurred on Tuesday in the town of Tewêle in Hawraman city, located in the border area between East Kurdistan (Iran) and South Kurdistan (Iraq).
https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/explosion-in-hawraman-results-in-casualties-66566
- Teachers’ union activist released on bail in Saqqez
11 April 2023 | KHRN
Soleiman Abdi, a member of the Kurdistan Teachers’ Union in Saqqez, Kurdistan province, was temporarily released from Saqqez Prison on 10 April.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/teachers-union-activist-released-on-bail-in-saqqez/
- Iran rearrests Kurdish female activist Zina Madras Gorj
11 April 2023 | ANF
Kurdish female activist Zina Madras Gorj who took part in the women-led protests following the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini in Iran has been rearrested on the grounds of “forming a subversive organization” and sent to Sanandaj Prison.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/women/iran-rearrests-kurdish-female-activist-zina-madras-gorj-66562
- Omid Shahmohammadi, a teacher from Diwandareh, was arrested and sent to prison to serve an imprisonment sentence
10 April 2023 | Hengaw
On Monday, April 10, 2023, it was reported that Omid Shahmohammadi, a member of the Diwandareh branch of the Kurdistan Teachers’ Union, had been arrested and transferred to Bijar Central Prison to serve a one-year sentence.
- Iranian authorities arrest activist Zainab Zaman
09 April 2023 | ANHA
The Iranian state authorities arrested the feminist activist Zainab Zaman, who was among the first women to cut their hair to support the uprising (‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî, Women, Life, Freedom), in Iran and the outrages of Kurdistan (east) that erupted against the background of the murder of the young Kurdish woman, Gina Amini.
https://hawarnews.com/en/haber/iranian-authorities-arrest-activist-zainab-zaman-h35911.html
- Rapper held in Iran protests needs ‘urgent’ treatment: rights group
06 April 2023 | Al-Monitor
A rapper arrested in October on capital charges in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests needs urgent medical treatment, a rights group said Thursday, urging an international campaign for his release.
- Iranian schoolgirls poisoned in Urmia
03 April 2023 | ANF
As mass anti-government protests have been going on since the murder of a young Kurdish woman named Mahsa Amini by the morality police in Tehran in September 2022, poisoning attacks against girls’ schools and dormitories have increased in recent months.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/women/5-iranian-schoolgirls-poisoned-in-urmia-66436
- Iran border forces kill tradesman, injure another in Oshnavie
03 April 2023 | KHRN
Iranian border forces opened fire on a group of tradesmen in the Gadar area of Oshnavieh, West Azerbaijan province, on 2 April, killing civilian Eynollah Ghadernezhad. https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/iran-border-forces-kill-tradesman-injure-another-in-oshnavieh/
- PJAK co-chair: “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” revolution in Iran and Rojhilat continues
03 April 2023 | ANF
PJAK co-chair Siyamend Muini stated that the Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” (Woman, Life, Freedom) revolution in Iran and East Kurdistan (Rojhilat) continues, stressing that they will not allow it to be derailed.
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Activists Detained, Workers Threatened as Oil Industry Workers Strike in Iran
05 May 2023 | CHRI
Strikers in Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemicals industries are being threatened with firing and labor activists are being rounded up and imprisoned as the Islamic Republic turns its focus to labor in its continued drive to squash peaceful protest across the country.
- Iran: School Girls Continue to Face Chemical Attacks, Officials Refuse to Provide Security
24 April 2023 | CHRI
Five months after the first report of a chemical attack on a girls’ school in Iran, students across the country are continuing to report chemical odors in their classrooms and symptoms associated with chemical inhalation, including respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, fainting, and eye irritation.
- U.S. Continues to Press for Renewed Kurdish Oil Exports, as pro-Iran Elements Block Implementation of Accord
14 April 2023 | K24
A State Department Spokesperson affirmed to Kurdistan 24 on Thursday that the U.S. is still seeking a speedy resumption of Kurdish oil exports, despite delays that have emerged since a broad agreement was reached on April 4…
- Imprisoned Dissident Rapper Toomaj Salehi, Voice of Iran’s Protests, Faces Possible Execution
06 April 2023 | CHRI
The international community, including music and arts institutions as well as freedom of speech and expression organizations, should urgently call for the release from arbitrary imprisonment of dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi, who is widely considered the voice of Iran’s protest movement, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
REPORTS
- Iran executes at least 582 people in 2022
07 May 2023 | ANF
The 15th Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, by Iran Human Rights and ECPM reveals the highest annual number of executions since 2015. At least 582 people were executed in 2022.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/human-rights/iran-executes-at-least-582-people-in-2022-67051
- More than 200 Human Rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan in April 2023
07 April 2023 | Hengaw
At least 200 human rights violations have been documented by Hengaw during March 2023.
https://hengaw.net/en/news?Page=1
- Execution of at least 21 Baloch citizens within five days in the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran
05 May 2023 | HANA
According to Hana’s report, quoted by Balochistan Hale Vesh news agency, from April 29, 2023, to May 4, 2023, at least 21 Baloch citizens, sixteen of them on charges related to “narcotics” and five others on charges of “murder” Among them were two female citizens, who were sentenced to death by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic.
- April 2023: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
05 May 2023 | KHRN
Investigations carried out by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) show that many Kurdish civilians and activists from Iran became victims of human rights violations in April 2023.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/april-2023-human-rights-violations-in-iranian-kurdistan/
- Hengaw’s report regarding the financial assistance to the wounded protesters of the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” Revolution in Kurdistan
04 May 2023 | Hengaw
During the recent revolution, subsequently the bloody repression of the people by the Islamic Republic of Iran in various cities, especially Bukan, Mahabad, Piranshahr, Saqqez, Sanandaj, and Javanroud, the number of injured increased protesters increased magnificently, and at the same time, the Iranian government forces began to strictly control medical centers and even Pharmacies.
- Statistics of human rights situation in April 2023, in Kurdistan of Iran
03 May 2023 | HANA
Hana Human Rights Organization Statistics Center publishes its statistical report on the human rights situation and violation of fundamental rights of Kurdish citizens in April 2023 in Iranian Kurdistan.
- Annual Report of Human Rights situation Mar 2022 – Mar 2023
27 April 2023 | KHRN
This annual report covers the human rights situation of Kurds in Iran from 21 March 2022 to 21 March 2023. As in previous years, the violation of the rights of Kurdish people on the basis of their language…
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/annual-report-mar-2022-mar-2023/
- Live updates: Annual Report of the Death Penalty in Iran 2022
13 April 2023 | IHR
The 15th Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, by Iran Human Rights and ECPM reveals the highest annual number of executions since 2015. At least 582 people were executed, an increase of 75% compared to 2021. In 2022, Iran’s authorities demonstrated how crucial the death penalty is to instil societal fear in order to hold onto power.