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
- KNK will organize Kurdish National Conference in Lausanne in July
- PUK President receives newly-appointed Iranian Consul General to Sulaimani
- Legal Statement by Hengaw on the Internal Armed Conflict at the Komala Party of Kurdistan
- Kurdish protester sentenced to 15 years in prison in Tehran
- New border crossing between Kurdistan Region, Iran to open
- Author Sayîme Xakpur: Kurdish literature is one of the richest in the world
- Prisoner faces imminent risk of execution in Sanandaj, Iran
- A member of the LGBTQ community committed suicide in Oshnovieh
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shell protected areas of Mount Kusalan in Rojhilat
- Landmine explosion kills shepherd on Kurdistan Region-Iran border
- In new purge, Iran expels independent, Reformist professors
- Eight Teachers and Union Activists sentenced to long prison term of total of 34 years
- Iranian state sentences two Kurdish sheikhs to 12 years in prison
- YRK reports large-scale Iranian operation in Mariwan
- Flooding in Iran kills seven, injures dozens
- Atena Farghdani, a cartoonist and children’s rights activist arrested
- Iran-Afghan water tensions surge amid drought, complicating Taliban ties
- Iranian soldiers kill a kolbar
- A new wave of summons and threats against civil and political activists has started in Kurdistan due to the possible increase in gasoline prices
- Sanandaj province produces more than 62 percent of Iran’s total strawberries
- More than 40 female students in Iran expelled from university
- A young woman who was the victim of child marriage was murdered by her husband
- Sanandaj: Arrest of Eight Labor Activists by Security Forces
- New EU sanctions on Iran target Basij, judiciary after executions
- UNHRC: Retract Appointment of Iranian Ambassador to Chair Social Forum
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Students Across Iran Say “No” to Forced Hijab
- Latest developments on the ongoing militarization of Kurdish Cities, Helicopters surveillance and an armed confrontation in Urmia
- Iran: Proposed Bill Pushes Denial of Basic Rights to Unveiled Women
- The nephew of Haydar Ghorbani, the executed political prisoner, was abducted in Kamyaran
- Imposed Coercion for Basij Membership on Urmia Livestock Farmers
- Urgent Call for Action – Alarming Wave of Executions in Iran Calls for Urgent Global Reaction
- World Leaders Urged to Radically Increase Pressure on Iran to Cease Executions
- Kurdistan Human Rights Organization’s criticism and reaction to Iran’s appointment as chairman of the sessions of the “Social Assembly of the Human Rights Council”
- States and UN must not let Iran lead upcoming UN Forum on technology and human rights
REPORTS
- Hengaw’s initial report regarding the intense armed conflicts between the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
- At least 160 Kurdish citizens from Islamabad-e-Gharb were summoned and interrogated
- Iranian Kurdistan’s human rights situation as of May 2023
- May 2023: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
- Iranian authorities have detained over 100 individuals over the course of the month of May, 2023
- IHRNGO: At least 142 were executed in Iran in May, 307 in 2023
- KMMK-G Summary Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran for the period: 1st January to May 22nd. 2023
- 2022 saw the highest number of executions in five years, says Amnesty International
- RJAK supports Green Left Party in May 14 elections
———————
NEWS
- KNK will organize Kurdish National Conference in Lausanne in July
22 June 2023 | ANF
The Kurdistan National Congress will organize a Kurdish National Conference in Lausanne, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne which divided Kurdistan into four parts and subjected the peoples of the region to genocide.
- PUK President receives newly-appointed Iranian Consul General to Sulaimani
22 June 2023 | ESTA
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) President Bafel Talabani on Tuesday received the newly-appointed Iranian Consul General to Sulaimani City, highlighting Kurdistan-Iran bilateral ties.
- Legal Statement by Hengaw on the Internal Armed Conflict at the Komala Party of Kurdistan
22 June 2023 | Hengaw
Hengaw organization for Human Rights, unequivocally denounces the escalating internal armed conflict involving members of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan and the Komala Party of Kurdistan.
- Kurdish protester sentenced to 15 years in prison in Tehran
21 June 2023 | ANF
Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran has sentenced Kurdish protester Parham Parvari to a total of 15 years in prison, including 10 years in exile in Jask prison in Hormozgan province, in southern Iran.
- New border crossing between Kurdistan Region, Iran to open
19 June 2023 | ESTA
A new border crossing between the Kurdistan Region and Iran will be officially opened in the nearby future, according to the government on Sunday.
- Author Sayîme Xakpur: Kurdish literature is one of the richest in the world
19 June 2023 | ANF
Born in the city of Urmia in Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan), Sayime Xakpûr writes, translates and studies the Kurdish language and literature. Xakpûr has translated and published many Kurdish books into Persian, which focus on the voice of Kurdish society…
- Prisoner faces imminent risk of execution in Sanandaj, Iran
19 June 2023 | KHRN
Death row prisoner Hemin Mostafaei was today transferred to solitary confinement in Sanandaj Central Prison for execution. As his death sentence has been finalised, Mostafaei is at imminent risk of execution.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/prisoner-faces-imminent-risk-of-execution-in-sanandaj-iran/
- A member of the LGBTQ community committed suicide in Oshnovieh
19 June 2023 | Hengaw
According to a report obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Matin Khalilbaigi, a 24-year-old from Oshnovieh and a member of the LGBTQ community, committed suicide due to mental illness brought on by his family’s and society’s abuse of him.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/2023/06/a-member-of-the-queer-community-committed-suicide-in-oshnovieh
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shell protected areas of Mount Kusalan in Rojhilat
19 June 2023 | ANF
Iranian armed forces are destroying the protected area of Mount Kusalan, in Sarvabad, in the Kurdistan Province. The region has been heavily bombarded for a week by the Iranian armed forces on the pretext of fighting against the Kurdish armed group PJAK.
- Landmine explosion kills shepherd on Kurdistan Region-Iran border
18 June 2023 | Rudaw
A landmine explosion in an Erbil town on the border between the Kurdistan Region and Iran claimed the life of a 65-year-old shepherd on Sunday.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/180620231
- In new purge, Iran expels independent, Reformist professors
17 June 2023 | Al-Monitor
The hard-line government of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has in recent months initiated an academic purge that has resulted in the expulsion of Reformists and independent professors from universities.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/06/new-purge-iran-expels-independent-reformist-professors
- Eight Teachers and Union Activists sentenced to long prison term of total of 34 years
17 June 2023 | Hengaw
In a recent development reported by the Hengaw Human Rights Organization, the Shiraz Revolutionary Court has issued verdicts against eight union activists and teachers from Fars province, resulting in their collective sentence of 34 years in prison.
- Iranian state sentences two Kurdish sheikhs to 12 years in prison
15 June 2023 | ANHA
The Council of Political Detainees in Rojhelat Kurdistan revealed, in a statement, that the Hamedan Court had sentenced two Kurdish sheikhs, Mullah Luqman Amini and Mullah Ibrahim Karimi, from the city of Sinnah in Rojhelat Kurdistan to 12 years in prison.
- YRK reports large-scale Iranian operation in Mariwan
13 June 2023 | ANF
The Defense Units of Eastern Kurdistan (YRK) Command released a statement providing information about increasingly ongoing Iranian military activity and attacks despite their forces being in a state of inaction and self-defense.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/yrk-reports-large-scale-iranian-operation-in-mariwan-67758
- Flooding in Iran kills seven, injures dozens
10 June 2023 | Rudaw
A wave of storms and floods across several provinces in northern and central Iran over the past two days has killed at least seven people and injured nearly 60, state media reported.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/10062023
- Atena Farghdani, a cartoonist and children’s rights activist arrested
08 June 2023 | Hengaw
Atena Farghdani, a cartoonist who has been sentenced to prison before, went to the Evin courthouse after being summoned and was arrested again.
- Iran-Afghan water tensions surge amid drought, complicating Taliban ties
06 June 2023 | Al-Monitor
Tensions have escalated between Tehran and the Taliban regime in Kabul over the distribution of their shared waters. As Iran faces increasing water scarcity issues, Afghanistan is trying to dam water sources as much as possible to generate electricity and irrigate agricultural land.
- Iranian soldiers kill a kolbar
06 June 2023 | ANF
According to Kolbarnews, Iranian regime forces opened fire on a group of kolbars in the village of Zile, located within the borders of the city of Bane in Eastern Kurdistan.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/iranian-soldiers-kills-kolber-67616
- A new wave of summons and threats against civil and political activists has started in Kurdistan due to the possible increase in gasoline prices
05 June 2023 | Hengaw
During the past few days, the Iranian Intelligence in various cities of Kurdistan, while summoning and threatening political and civil activists has taken commitments with unclear legal content from them to not participate in future protests.
- Sanandaj province produces more than 62 percent of Iran’s total strawberries
05 June 2023 | K24
Sanandaj province, located in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat), has a population of less than 2% of Iran’s total population and yet produces more than 62% of Iran’s total strawberries.
21.More than 40 female students in Iran expelled from university
30 May 2023 | ANF
More than 40 female students at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Iran have been expelled from the university in the last month. The Student Union Council reported that the expulsions were aimed at suppressing the popular uprising.
- A young woman who was the victim of child marriage was murdered by her husban
30 May 2023 | Hengaw
Hengaw Organization was informed that on May 29, 2023, 18-year-old Prastu Shahbazi, who was also the mother of an 18-month-old kid, was brutally stabbed to death before being mercilessly hanged by her husband…
23. Sanandaj: Arrest of Eight Labor Activists by Security Forces
24 May 2023 | Kurdpa
On Wednesday evening, May 17th, Hajar Saeedi, Abdullah Kheirabadi, Kamal Karimi, Shadman Abdi, Habibullah Karimi, Khabat Mahmoudi, Sirvan Mahmoudi, and Eqbal Pishkari, who are labor activists from Sanandaj, were detained by security forces.
https://kurdpa.net/en/news/2023/05/18
- New EU sanctions on Iran target Basij, judiciary after executions
22 May 2023 | Al-Monitor
Following the execution of three Iranian protestors in Isfahan last week, the Council of the European Union adopted sanctions against additional five individuals and two entities held responsible for serious breaches of human rights in Iran.
- UNHRC: Retract Appointment of Iranian Ambassador to Chair Social Forum
11 May 2023 | CHRI
The appointment of Ali Bahreini, the Islamic Republic’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, to chair the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) 2023 Social Forum, is an outrage and should be retracted immediately, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said in a statement today.
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Students Across Iran Say “No” to Forced Hijab
19 June 2023 | CHRI
At least a dozen student groups from universities across Iran have issued strong statements of support for fellow students who are facing severe persecution at the Art University of Teheran for peacefully protesting forced-Hijab rules and punishment on campus.
https://iranhumanrights.org/2023/06/students-across-iran-say-no-to-forced-hijab/
- Latest developments on the ongoing militarization of Kurdish Cities, Helicopters surveillance and an armed confrontation in Urmia
15 June 2023 | Hengaw
In recent developments concerning the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operations in Kurdistan, reports indicate a growing trend of militarization, including helicopter flights over urban centers and at least one recorded armed confrontation.
- Iran: Proposed Bill Pushes Denial of Basic Rights to Unveiled Women
15 June 2023 | CHRI
In the wake of the “Woman Life Freedom” movement that ignited nine months ago, a new parliamentary bill has emerged, intensifying discrimination against women who choose not to wear the hijab in Iran, while also undermining fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, belief, religion, and association.
- The nephew of Haydar Ghorbani, the executed political prisoner, was abducted in Kamyaran
11 June 2023 | Hengaw
Dana Ghorbani, 19, from Kamyaran and the nephew of Haydar Ghorbani, a political prisoner whose death sentence was executed two years ago, was violently abducted by government forces in this city.
- Imposed Coercion for Basij Membership on Urmia Livestock Farmers
10 June 2023 | Hengaw
Recent developments have brought to light the troubling situation faced by livestock farmers in the Silvana district of Urmia, as they endure threats and coercive measures from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij organization.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/2023/06/imposed-coercion-for-basij-membership-on-urmia-livestock-farmers
- Urgent Call for Action – Alarming Wave of Executions in Iran Calls for Urgent Global Reaction
07 June 2023 | Kurdpa
We, the undersigned, are deeply alarmed and appalled by the chilling surge in executions by the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past few months, including the recent wave of executions targeting protesters…
https://kurdpa.net/en/news/2023/06/1
- World Leaders Urged to Radically Increase Pressure on Iran to Cease Executions
24 May 2023 | CHRI
In a letter delivered to 75 governments around the world today, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) called on world leaders to radically increase pressure on the Islamic Republic to cease the flagrantly unlawful executions of protesters and others that are surging in Iran.
- Kurdistan Human Rights Organization’s criticism and reaction to Iran’s appointment as chairman of the sessions of the “Social Assembly of the Human Rights Council”
21 May 2023 | HANA
On Wednesday, May 10, 2023, Václav Bálek, the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, announced in a letter to the members of the Council that “Ali Bahraini…will be the chairman of the session of the “Social Assembly of the Human Rights Council” which It will be held on the second and third of November 2023.
- States and UN must not let Iran lead upcoming UN Forum on technology and human rights
12 May 2023 | Kurdpa
As organizations dedicated to promoting respect for human rights, Impact Iran and its members express their profound dismay and concern at the recent appointment of Mr. Ali Bahreini, the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations (UN), as Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Social Forum of the Human Rights Council (HRC).
https://kurdpa.net/en/news/2023/05/9
REPORTS
- Hengaw’s initial report regarding the intense armed conflicts between the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
17 June 2023 | Hengaw
Following the clashes in the past few days, a fierce armed conflict between the IRGC forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) guerillas has taken place at the heights of the Boralan border area located in Maku, West Azerbaijan (Urmia) province.
- At least 160 Kurdish citizens from Islamabad-e-Gharb were summoned and interrogated
17 June 2023 | Hengaw
Hengaw has been informed that during the last four days, at least 160 Kurdish citizens from Islamabad-e-Ghatb, most of whom were residents of Lor village, have been summoned and interrogated by the Iranian security institutions.
- Iranian Kurdistan’s human rights situation as of May 2023
02 June 2023 | HANA
Hana human rights organization’s statistics center publishes its statistical report on the human rights situation and the violation of fundamental rights of Kurdish citizens in May 2023 in Iranian Kurdistan.
https://hana-hr.org/content/20230622-iranian-kurdistan-s-human-rights-situation-as-of-may-2023
- May 2023: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
01 June 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 May 2023.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/may-2023-human-rights-violations-in-iranian-kurdistan/
- Iranian authorities have detained over 100 individuals over the course of the month of May, 2023
31 May 2023 | Hengaw
In the month of May this year, government forces in the Islamic Republic of Iran have detained or forcibly disappeared at least 107 individuals, including 21 women.
- IHRNGO: At least 142 were executed in Iran in May, 307 in 2023
01 June 2023 | ANF
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) reported that at least 142 people have been executed in May, the highest monthly execution since 2015. Furthermore, at least 307 people have been executed in 2023, a 76% rise (174 people) compared to the same period in 2022.
- KMMK-G Summary Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran for the period: 1st January to May 22nd. 2023
22 May 2023 | KMMK
This report provides up-to-date data and analysis on the situations of human rights in Kurdistan of Iran from January 1, 2023 until May 23rd, 2023, prepared for the attention of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situations of human rights in Iran, OHCHR, FFMI, UN agencies, media, governments and public attention.
- 2022 saw the highest number of executions in five years, says Amnesty International
16 May 2023 | ANF
Recorded executions in 2022 reached the highest figure in five years, as the Middle East and North Africa’s most notorious executioners carried out killing sprees, Amnesty International said today as it released its annual review of the death penalty.
- RJAK supports Green Left Party in May 14 elections
08 May 2023 | ANF
In a written statement, the Kurdistan Free Women’s Movement (RJAK) announced its support for the Green Left Party, under the umbrella of which the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is contesting because of the ongoing closure case against the party before the Constitutional Court of Turkey.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/elections-2023/rjak-supports-green-left-party-in-may-14-elections-67074