For all of the latest Kurdish news, see these sources:
ANF English: https://anfenglishmobile.com/
Hawar News: https://hawarnews.com/en/
Rojava Information Center: https://rojavainformationcenter.com
Women Defend Rojava: http://womendefendrojava.net/en/
Rojhelat: http://rojhelat.info/en/
Rojava Centre for Strategic Studies: http://nrlsrojava.com/en/
Komun Academy: https://komun-academy.com
CHRI: https://www.iranhumanrights.org/
Iran Human Rights: https://iranhr.net/en/
Kurdistan Press Agency: https://kurdpa.net/en
KHRN: http://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en
KMMK: https://kmmk-ge.org/
Hengaw:https://hengaw.net/en
NEWS
1. Iran reconsidering list of disqualified presidential candidates
2. Four environmentalists killed in traffic accident in Iran’s Kurdistan province
3. Kurdish woman activist on fourth day of hunger strike against unlawful detention
4. 35 Kurdish citizens arrested by Iranian government during May 2021
5. Three kolbars killed and 13 injured in May
6. Seyed Mohammad Hosseini was sentenced to 40 years in prison and exile in Urmia Prison
7. CPJ urges Iran to release journalist Najaf Mehdipour
8. Iran’s leadership accused of fixing presidential election
9. Almost 30 Iranian Kurds, Including Minors, Have Committed Suicide In Past 30 Days
10. Kurdish asylum-seeker dies after self-immolation in front of UN office
11. Two Kurdish journalists arrested in Ilam
12. Arrest of five civil activists in Sanandaj
13. Iranian Kurds protest at UN office following asylum-seeker’s self-immolation
14. Kurdish journalists in Iraq criticized after Iranian immolates himself on camera
15. A Kurdish asylum seeker from Iranian sets himself on fire in front of the UN office in Erbil
16. KODAR calls for a boycott of upcoming elections in Iran
17. Iran court sentences Kurdish political prisoner to 40 years in jail
18. Leyla Qasim, the bride of Kurdistan: Honoring the first woman executed in Iraq
19. CAMPAIGN Weaving ourselves for Life: Stopping feminicides
OPINION
1. Iran Election: Don’t Ignore Ebrahim Raisi’s Gross Rights Violations
2. The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran confirms the killing of two of its members in Piranshahr
3. Protecting the environment is protecting the country
4. After Gaza comes Gare
5. Iran Narrows in on Repressing Farmers’ Protests as Water Crisis Spreads
6. For Iran’s Lawyers, Defending Dissidents Is Getting Dangerous (Commentary Published in World Politics Review)
7. Using the people’s presence in the elections as a tool is the system’s weapon to gain legitimacy
8. The contractual game on the rights of nations by the Iranian government
9. Joint Letter: Biden’s Iran Policy Must Include Focus on Human Rights
REPORTS
1. Hengaw Human Rights Organisation Monthly Report on Human Rights Violations in Iranian Kurdistan during May 2021
2. May monthly report: Human rights violations in Kurdish region of Iran, hardships faced by asylum seekers in Iraqi Kurdistan
3. IRAN VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
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NEWS
1. Iran reconsidering list of disqualified presidential candidates
04 June 2021 | Al-Monitor
Iran’s powerful Guardian Council said it would review the decision to bar certain candidates from running in this month’s presidential election.
2. Four environmentalists killed in traffic accident in Iran’s Kurdistan province
04 June 2021 | Rudaw
Four environmentalists have died and 11 were wounded in the wreck of a minibus on Friday morning near the city of Saqqez in Iran’s Kurdistan province, an activist told Rudaw English.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/040620211
3. Kurdish woman activist on fourth day of hunger strike against unlawful detention
03 June 2021 | KHRN
Civil rights activist and student Viyan Mohammadi has gone on hunger strike on 31 May to protest against her unlawful detention.
4. 35 Kurdish citizens arrested by Iranian government during May 2021
02 June 2021 | Hengaw
According to statistics recorded at the Statistics and Data Documentation Center of Hengaw Human Rights Organization, at least 35 Kurdish citizens were arrested by the Iranian security agencies in May 2021 on charges of political, civic, religious activities and participating in Newroz celebrations.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/35-kurdish-citizens-arrested-by-iranian-government-during-may-2021
5. Three kolbars killed and 13 injured in May
01 June 2021 | ANF News
Hengaw Human Rights Organisations known for its works on violation of human rights announced the balance sheet of violations against kolbars, load carriers for daily wage, in the border region during the month of May.
https://anfenglish.com/human-rights/three-kolbars-killed-and-13-injured-in-may-52469
6. Seyed Mohammad Hosseini was sentenced to 40 years in prison and exile in Urmia Prison
26 May 2021 | Kurdpa
A Kurdish citizen named “Seyed Mohammad Hosseini” from Naqadeh was sentenced by the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Mahabad to 40 years in prison and exile to Urmia Central Prison on charges of “Moharebeh” for being a member of a Kurdish opposition party. https://kurdpa.net/en/news/seyed-mohammad-hosseini-was-sentenced-to-40-years-in-prison-and-exile-in-urmia-prison
7. CPJ urges Iran to release journalist Najaf Mehdipour
25 May 2021 | ANF News
Iran’s leadership has been accused of a transparent fix after most prominent reformists were barred from running in next month’s presidential elections, leaving one of the most politically constrained fields in the 41-year history of the republic.
8. Iran’s leadership accused of fixing presidential election
25 May 2021 | The Guardian
Iran’s leadership has been accused of a transparent fix after most prominent reformists were barred from running in next month’s presidential elections, leaving one of the most politically constrained fields in the 41-year history of the republic.
9. Almost 30 Iranian Kurds, Including Minors, Have Committed Suicide In Past 30 Days
24 May 2021 | eurasiareview
There have been at least 29 suicides in the past 30 days among Iranian Kurds in northwestern and western Iran. According to the Statistics and Documentation Center of Hengaw Organization, the 29 Iranian Kurds consisted of 14 women and 15 men, including 4 minors.
10. Kurdish asylum-seeker dies after self-immolation in front of UN office
24 May 2021 | Rudaw
A Kurdish asylum seeker from Iran died Sunday night due to his burns less than a week after he set himself on fire in front of the UN office in Erbil, medical sources confirmed.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/24052021
11. Two Kurdish journalists arrested in Ilam
23 May 2021 | Hengaw
Kaveh (Najaf) Mahdipour, a journalist from Darrehshahr district of Ilam province, was arrested by order of Judge Sohrabizadeh Malekshahi, President of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Court of Darrehshahr. According to an informed source, the Kurdish journalist has been arrested for publishing critical articles about the activities of Ebrahim Raisi, the head of Iran’s judiciary and a presidential candidate.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/two-kurdish-journalists-arrested-in-ilam
12. Arrest of five civil activists in Sanandaj
21 May 2021 | Kurdpa
… five civil activists named “Morteza Mohammadi”, “Keyvan Eliassy”, “Reza Rezaie”, “Qane Khateri” and “Mohsen Hosseinpanahi” from Sanandaj were arrested by security forces. According to an informed source, security forces raided the homes of these five citizens without issuing any court order and arrested them.
https://kurdpa.net/en/news/arrest-of-five-civil-activists-in-sanandaj
13. Iranian Kurds protest at UN office following asylum-seeker’s self-immolation
20 May 2021 | Kurdistan 24
Kurds from Iran who are waiting for asylum decisions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq protested in front of the United Nations headquarters in the capital on Thursday, just days after a man set fire to himself at the building.
14. Kurdish journalists in Iraq criticized after Iranian immolates himself on camera
19 May 2021 | Al-Monitor
Journalists in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq were criticized by local authorities and on social media Tuesday after a man they were interviewing set himself on fire.
15. A Kurdish asylum seeker from Iranian sets himself on fire in front of the UN office in Erbil
18 May 2021 | Hengaw
According to a report received by Hengaw Human Rights Organization, at around noon on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, two asylum seekers from Iranian Kurdistan went on strike in front of the UN office in Erbil , one of whom set himself on fire.
16. KODAR calls for a boycott of upcoming elections in Iran
18 May 2021 | ANF News
Speaking to ANF, the Democratic and Free Society of East Kurdistan (KODAR) Executive Board member Ario Berzen called for a boycott of the upcoming presidential elections in Iran. For the people there is nothing to win in the elections on June 18, said the KODAR representative and pointed to the low participation in the parliamentary elections last year.
https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/kodar-calls-for-a-boycott-of-upcoming-elections-in-iran-52142
17. Iran court sentences Kurdish political prisoner to 40 years in jail
12 May 2021 | KHRN
Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad has sentenced the Kurdish political prisoner Mohammad Moradi to 40 years in prison and internal exile to Orumiyeh Central Prison on charges of “armed insurrection” through “membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI)”.
18. Leyla Qasim, the bride of Kurdistan: Honoring the first woman executed in Iraq
12 May 2021 | Kurdistan24
Over four decades ago, Leyla Qasim’s final request was for a set of Kurdish clothes to be delivered to her prison cell, so she could wear the outfit and be the bride of Kurdistan at her death. On May 12, 1974, the 22-year-old activist was the first woman to be executed in Iraq’s history.
19. CAMPAIGN Weaving ourselves for Life: Stopping feminicides
11 May 2021 | ANF News
Dozens of women’s organizations and individuals have launched a campaign to denounce and confront feminicide as a product of the relations of power and domination that the patriarchal system has established over the last 5,000 years.
https://anfenglish.com/women/weaving-ourselves-for-life-stopping-feminicides-51971
OPINION
1. Iran Election: Don’t Ignore Ebrahim Raisi’s Gross Rights Violations
03 June 2021 | CHRI
Hadi Ghaemi Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi should be investigated for crimes against humanity, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said in a statement today. “Raisi is a pillar of a system that jails, tortures, and kills people for daring to criticize state policies”…
2. The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran confirms the killing of two of its members in Piranshahr
31 May 2021 | Hengaw
According to a statement posted on the Democratic Party of Kurdistan’s Facebook page, two members of the party named “Hadi Sheikha” and “Ayub Soltani” were killed by the Iranian Forces near the village of “ Linken” on Piranshahr-Mahabad Road.
3. Protecting the environment is protecting the country
28 May 2021 | Rojhelat
Jotyar Pishava The nature in general has been faced disasters in the world and has become victim to the capitalist system. The nature has spent millions of years for renovating, self-renewal, self-enrichment, and the creation of hundreds of thousands of species of plants and animals…
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10572
4. After Gaza comes Gare
24 May 2021 | ANF News
Firaz Amargi We must understand that the solution to Palestine lies in Kurdistan. Because that is where an alternative to the state and capitalism is being defended. There, a hope is attacked that gives strength and perspective to democratic forces all over the world.
https://anfenglish.com/features/after-gaza-comes-gare-52274
5. Iran Narrows in on Repressing Farmers’ Protests as Water Crisis Spreads
21 May 2021 | CHRI
Kaveh Madani Protests by hard-hit farmers over Iran’s worsening water crisis are being repressed by state security forces as officials increasingly describe the protests as a “national security” issue.
6. For Iran’s Lawyers, Defending Dissidents Is Getting Dangerous (Commentary Published in World Politics Review)
18 May 2021 | CHRI
Jasmine Ramsey In 1985, my parents were taken to court in Tehran by a tenant who was trying to stop them from selling a property he was renting from them at the time. My parents were surprised to learn about the lawsuit. After all, they had given the tenant several months to vacate. He had no legitimate legal argument.
7. Using the people’s presence in the elections as a tool is the system’s weapon to gain legitimacy
15 May 2021 | Rojhelat
KODAR/PJAK While we are approaching to the eleventh threshold of the presidential election and the sixth period of the city and village council’s election is more than four decades, it has been and is the only category observed in the record of the provincial republic’s absolute system, fascism, assimilation, suppression of uprisings, assassination and opposition to any opportunity for freedom and democracy of civil society.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10528
8. The contractual game on the rights of nations by the Iranian government
13 May 2021 | Rojhelat
PJAK The general circumstances in Iran these days are such that beyond the crisis in any field, it has caused inclusive chaos. Any political, economic and social chaos will inevitably lead to the angry outburst of protests and great transform.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10524
9. Joint Letter: Biden’s Iran Policy Must Include Focus on Human Rights
10 May 2021 | CHRI
CHRI/PEN Today PEN America and the Center for Human Rights in Iran, along with a coalition of human rights organizations, sent a joint letter to President Biden urging his administration to ensure that human rights concerns are at the center of U.S. foreign policy towards Iran.
REPORTS
1. Hengaw Human Rights Organisation Monthly Report on Human Rights Violations in Iranian Kurdistan during May 2021
03 June 2021 | Hengaw
According to the statistics recorded at the Statistics and Data Documentation Center of Hengaw Human Rights Organization, at least 77 human rights violations were registered in Iranian Kurdistan during May 2021…
2. May monthly report: Human rights violations in Kurdish region of Iran, hardships faced by asylum seekers in Iraqi Kurdistan
01 June 2021 | KHRN
Investigations carried out by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) show that various human rights violations have taken place in Iranian Kurdistan in May 2021. In addition to these violations, the KHRN has also collected information on the difficulties Iranian Kurdish asylum seekers and workers face in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/may-monthly-report-human-rights-violations/
3. IRAN VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
11 May 2021 | Rojhelat
In Iran, basic freedoms of speech, assembly, thought, and religion are all severely violated. The vast majority of those who dare to criticise the state are thrown into prison. Trials are unjust. Torture and mistreatment, including whipping and amputation, are widespread.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10513
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
44 Ainger Road, London NW3 3AT
Email: estella@gn.apc.org
https://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com
Contacts Estella Schmid: 07846 666 804 & Melanie Gingell: 07572 430903