For more of the latest Kurdish news, see these sources:
ANF English https://anfenglishmobile.com/
Esta https://esta.krd/en
HANA https://hana-hr.org/
Hawar News https://hawarnews.com/en/
Hengaw https://hengaw.net/en
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
- Seven Kolbars Wounded in Nowsud Border from Government Forces’ Gunfire
- 35-year-old killed in Iranian custody in East Kurdistan
- Twelve Arrested in South Khorasan for Alleged Misinformation and Insults
- Iran condemns US, UK strikes in Yemen, Russia requests UN Security Council meeting
- Kurdish political prisoner denied medical care, communication rights
- Suicide drone shot down over Erbil airport: Kurdistan CT
- 8 Kurdish citizens sentenced to prison over participation in “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” uprising
- Iranian Singer Mehdi Yarrahi Receives Prison Sentence and Lashes
- President Nechirvan Barzani expresses his condolences to the victims of the ISIS attack in Iran
- Saudi Arabia to add Kurdish language to pilgrimage instructions
- Supreme Court in Iran confirms further death sentenc
- Filmmaker Karimiyan buried in Sulaymaniyah
- Sardasht; Barzin Hamzezadeh, one of the Kurdish children arrested in the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi movement, died as a result of injuries caused by torture
- Dozens killed in twin bomb blasts at memorial service for Qassem Soleimani in Iran
- Two-day conference in Stockholm will discuss women’s resistance in Iran and Rojhilat
- Maryam Akbari Monfared Faces Another Prison Sentence After 15 Years in Detention
- Female journalists who reported on Jina Amini banned from phone calls and family visits in prison
- Spanish World Cup trekker homebound after year-long detention in Iran
- Kurdish teacher and cultural activist Ebrahimi begins serving prison sentence in Sine
- The UN human rights chief on Friday deplored the execution of four people in Iran
- IHRNGO Calls for International Action to Stop Execution of Protesters in Iran
- Telegram’s Dual Role in Iran: A Platform for IRGC’s Propaganda and Intimidation Tactics
- Iranian authorities stop Jina Amini’s lawyer, seize EU Parliament Sakharov Prize
- U.S. Slams Iran’s Human Rights Record on Winter Solstice Holiday
- Hengaw’s report regarding the arrest of a Christian couple in Tehran
- Tortured KJAR member continues to be held in Evin Prison
- Kurdish activist and journalist Azizi to appear before court in Tehran in next weeks
- “Slaughterhouse Court:” Jailed Iranian activist Mohammadi rejects Trial Appearance
- Kurdish Writer and Researcher Mozhgan Kavousi Commences 39-Month Prison Term
- Cutting more than 200, 30-year-old trees by natural resources in Orumiyeh
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Amb. John Bolton: Biden Administration fails to understand Iran’s centrality in regional attacks
- IHRNGO Warns of Imminent Execution of 4 Kurdish Political Prisoners
- Roya Heshmati’s sentence of 74 lashes due to non-observance of mandatory hijab
- HRA: Looking back on 2023
- Executions of Kurds in Iran nearly tripled in 2023: watchdog
- KJAR calls for the defense of female political prisoners in Iran
REPORTS
- Annual Report of December 2023: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
- At least 48 kolbars killed and 239 injured in 11 months
- Monthly Report of December 2023: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
- Killing and injuring 2206 Kolbars (porters) in the last 12 years AD (2012-2023)
- December 2023/January 2024: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
———————
NEWS
- Seven Kolbars Wounded in Nowsud Border from Government Forces’ Gunfire
13 January 2024 | Hengaw
Parsa Zolfaghari, Hadi Mansouri, and Borhan Rahimi from Ravansar, along with Delavar Faramarzi, Akbar Faramarzi, Akbar Raznehan, and Arkan (unidentified family name) from Tin village in Paveh, collectively sustained injuries at the Nowsud border due to direct gunfire from border regiment troops.
- 35-year-old killed in Iranian custody in East Kurdistan
12 January 2024 | ANF
A 35-year-old man was apparently tortured to death in East Kurdistan. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), Payam Abdi was arrested on 2 January in Kirmaşan (Kermanshah) for an alleged “social crime”.
- Twelve Arrested in South Khorasan for Alleged Misinformation and Insults
12 January 2024 | HRA
According to a police official, these 27 websites allegedly published “fake news and insulting content against the martyrs who lost their lives during the terrorist attack in Kerman.” The 12 individuals arrested in relation to this matter will face legal action.
https://www.en-hrana.org/twelve-arrested-in-south-khorasan-for-alleged-misinformation-and-insults/
- Iran condemns US, UK strikes in Yemen, Russia requests UN Security Council meeting
12 January 2024 | HRA
Iran’s foreign ministry on Friday condemned strikes by the United States and the United Kingdom targeting the Houthis in Yemen, and Russia’s permanent mission to the United Nations, on the same day, requested an urgent Security Council meeting on the matter.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/world/12012024
- Kurdish political prisoner denied medical care, communication rights
11 January 2024 | KHRN
Kurdish political prisoner Sakineh Parvaneh, currently serving a seven and a half year sentence in the women’s section of Mashhad Central Prison, is being denied medical care and her communication with her family is being restricted…
- Suicide drone shot down over Erbil airport: Kurdistan CT
10 January 2024 | Rudaw
A suicide drone attempting to target forces of the US-led global coalition was shot down over Erbil International Airport on Wednesday evening, Erbil-based Kurdish counterterrorism forces reported. A pro-Iran militia claimed responsibility for the attack.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/100120242
- 8 Kurdish citizens sentenced to prison over participation in “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” uprising
10 January 2024 | Hawar News
The citizens are: “Nasser Rezaei, Vahid Jawrawan, Muhammad Hassan Hasli, Azim Yadkari, Saadullah Eni, Farshad Eni, Hossein Babirvand, and Dr. Bakhtiar Mohammadzadeh.
- Iranian Singer Mehdi Yarrahi Receives Prison Sentence and Lashes
10 January 2024 | HRA
The Tehran Revolutionary Court has issued a verdict against singer and musician Mehdi Yarrahi, sentencing him to two years and eight months of imprisonment along with 74 lashes.
- President Nechirvan Barzani expresses his condolences to the victims of the ISIS attack in Iran
09 January 2024 | K24
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Monday visited the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Erbil to pay his respects to the victims of a recent ISIS attack in Kerman, Iran, which killed at least 91 people.
- Saudi Arabia to add Kurdish language to pilgrimage instructions
09 January 2024 | Rudaw
Saudi Arabia has promised to officially add Kurdish language to its pilgrimage-related instructions, a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official told Rudaw English on Tuesday.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/090120241
- Supreme Court in Iran confirms further death sentenc
08 January 2024 | ANF
The Supreme Court in Iran has confirmed the death sentences against four Kurds. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) said that the four are accused of “waging war against God,” “espionage” for Israel and planning “terrorist” actions.
- Filmmaker Karimiyan buried in Sulaymaniyah
08 January 2024 | ANF
Eastern Kurdistan director Mansour Karimiyan fell as a martyr after the air attack carried out by the Turkish state against Rojava on 23 December 2023. After Iran prevented Karimiyan’s family from burying their son in Eastern Kurdistan, they decided o bury him in Sulaymaniyah on Sunday.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/culture/filmmaker-karimiyan-buried-in-sulaymaniyah-71173
- Sardasht; Barzin Hamzezadeh, one of the Kurdish children arrested in the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi movement, died as a result of injuries caused by torture
03 January 2024 | Hengaw
Barzin Hamzezadeh, a Kurdish child from Sardasht who suffered severe injuries to his internal organs as a result of the severe beating of the Iranian forces, finally passed away 13 months after surgery at the hospital.
- Dozens killed in twin bomb blasts at memorial service for Qassem Soleimani in Iran
03 January 2024 | ANF
Iranian state media reported twin bomb blasts at a memorial service to mark the anniversary of the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Kerman. According to reports, at least 73 people were killed and 170 others were injured.
- Two-day conference in Stockholm will discuss women’s resistance in Iran and Rojhilat
03 January 2024 | ANF
A conference titled “Towards women’s revolution with Jin Jiyan Azadi” will take place on 20 and 21 January in Stockholm to discuss the women’s resistance in Iran and Rojhilat (East Kurdistan).
- Maryam Akbari Monfared Faces Another Prison Sentence After 15 Years in Detention
03 January 2024 | Hengaw
Maryam Akbari Monfared, a political prisoner whose family members were killed in the eighties, has been sentenced to a three-year prison term by the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
- Female journalists who reported on Jina Amini banned from phone calls and family visits in prison
02 January 2024 | ANF
Êran Jalili, the mother of journalist Nesim Sultan, announced on 10 December 2023 that Ilahe Mohammadi and Niloufer Hamidi were not allowed to meet with their families in prison.
- Spanish World Cup trekker homebound after year-long detention in Iran
02 January 2024 | Rudaw
A Spanish man who was detained by Iranian authorities in October 2022 as he was journeying by foot to attend the World Cup in Qatar is set to fly back home following his release from Iran, Spain’s foreign minister announced on Monday.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/02012024
- Kurdish teacher and cultural activist Ebrahimi begins serving prison sentence in Sine
01 January 2024 | ANF
A well-known cultural activist started his prison sentence in Rojhilat. As the human rights organization Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported on Sunday, Seyvan (also spelled Saywan) Ebrahimi was accompanied on Saturday in front of the Iranian central prison in the city of Sine (Sanandaj).
- The UN human rights chief on Friday deplored the execution of four people in Iran
30 December 2023 | HANA
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk deplores execution of 3 men and 1 woman today, allegedly for spying, following trials marred by serious due process concerns.
- IHRNGO Calls for International Action to Stop Execution of Protesters in Iran
27 December 2023 | IHR
The death sentences against Reza Rasayi and Mojahed Kourkour, two “Woman, Life, Freedom” protesters, have been reportedly upheld by the Supreme Court. At the same time, at least three other protesters also remain at risk.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/6433/
- Telegram’s Dual Role in Iran: A Platform for IRGC’s Propaganda and Intimidation Tactics
26 December 2023 | HRA
Telegram, founded in 2013, is an encrypted, cloud-based, and cross platform instant messaging service. It allows for the exchange of messages, both privately and in groups. Furthermore, it allows for voice and video calls and live streaming.
- Iranian authorities stop Jina Amini’s lawyer, seize EU Parliament Sakharov Prize
24 December 2023 | ANF
The Iranian regime confiscated the Sakharov Prize awarded to Jina Mahsa Amini. According to the French-based human rights organization Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Amini’s lawyer Saleh Nikbakht (who collected the prize) wanted to hand over the award to the family of the killed Kurdish woman in Rojhilat.
- U.S. Slams Iran’s Human Rights Record on Winter Solstice Holiday
22 December 2023 | K24
On Thursday, as many peoples, including Iranians, marked the winter solstice, State Department Spokesperson, Matthew Miller, issued a statement strongly criticizing Iran’s human rights record.
- Hengaw’s report regarding the arrest of a Christian couple in Tehran
22 December 2023 | Hengaw
Elissa Shahverdyan, a Christian citizen of Iranian descent, and her Armenian husband, whose identity has been confirmed as Hakop Gochumyan, were arrested this summer. Hakup Gochumyan spent the last one hundred and thirty days in detention.
- Tortured KJAR member continues to be held in Evin Prison
22 December 2023 | KHRN
Wrisha Moradi, a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women Society (KJAR) with the organisational code name of Jwana Sna, remains detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison…
- Kurdish activist and journalist Azizi to appear before court in Tehran in next weeks
21 December 2023 | ANF
The Kurdish activist Pakhshan Azizi must soon appear before a revolutionary court in the Iranian capital Tehran. As the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported, the 39-year-old is accused of membership in an opposition group.
- “Slaughterhouse Court:” Jailed Iranian activist Mohammadi rejects Trial Appearance
20 December 2023 | Hawar News
The family of human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who has been detained in Iranian prisons since 2021, reported that Narges refused to appear before the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on Tuesday (December 19).
- Kurdish Writer and Researcher Mozhgan Kavousi Commences 39-Month Prison Term
19 December 2023 | Hengaw
Mozhgan Kavousi, a Kurdish writer and researcher hailing from Kelardasht in Mazandaran province, has been apprehended and relocated to Tankabon prison to commence a 39-month imprisonment term.
- Cutting more than 200, 30-year-old trees by natural resources in Orumiyeh
18 December 2023 | ANF
According to Hana’s colleagues, on Thursday, December 14, 2023, the Natural Resources Department in Orumiyeh, in Balajoq village, cut down more than 200, 30-35-year-old fruit trees.
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- Amb. John Bolton: Biden Administration fails to understand Iran’s centrality in regional attacks
11 January 2024 | K24
John Bolton, National Security Advisor under Donald Trump and America’s U.N. ambassador under George W. Bush, spoke last week with Kurdistan 24. Bolton delivered a withering critique of the Biden administration’s policy toward the series of Middle East crises, which began on Oct. 7 with Hamas’s bloody cross-border assault into Israel.
- IHRNGO Warns of Imminent Execution of 4 Kurdish Political Prisoners
09 January 2024 | IHR
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Kurdish political prisoners Mohsen Mazloum, Pejman Fatehi, Vafa Azarbar and Hajir Faramarzi were arrested in Urmia on 22 June 2022 and held incommunicado since. Months later, their torture-tainted forced confessions were aired by state media.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/6470/
- Roya Heshmati’s sentence of 74 lashes due to non-observance of mandatory hijab
07 January 2024 | HANA
Roya Heshmati is 33 years old from Sanandaj and lives in Tehran. This female Kurdish citizen was arrested for publishing a photo of her without observing the mandatory hijab in Tehran’s Keshavarz Blvd.
- HRA: Looking back on 2023
04 January 2024 | HRA
Reflecting on 2023, Iran has faced significant human rights challenges. Despite these difficulties, it has also been a year marked by unwavering determination and resilience in the pursuit of justice and accountability.
https://www.hra-iran.org/en/uncategorized/hra-looking-back-on-2023
- Executions of Kurds in Iran nearly tripled in 2023: watchdog
23 December 2023 | Rudaw
Iran executed 144 Kurdish prisoners in 2023, a significant rise from the previous year, a human rights watchdog reported on Saturday.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/23122023
- KJAR calls for the defense of female political prisoners in Iran
14 December 2023 | ANF
The Community of Free Women of Eastern Kurdistan (KJAR) made a written statement on the continued detention of Kurdish political prisoner Zeinab Jalalian, the lack of news from KJAR member Warishe Moradi, who was kidnapped by Iranian intelligence, and the pressures on female political prisoners in Iran.
REPORTS
- Annual Report of December 2023: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
09 January 2024 | KHRN
This 2023 report details human rights violations of the Kurds in Iran.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/category/publications/annual-report/
- At least 48 kolbars killed and 239 injured in 11 months
03 January 2024 | ANF
According to the Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) media, at least 48 kolbars were killed and 239 (but some human rights associations put the number at 292) were injured in the attacks carried out by the Iranian regime forces from January to November 2023 in the border regions of Iran and Rojhilat.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/human-rights/40-kolbars-killed-and-292-injured-in-2023-71094
- Monthly Report of December 2023: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
03 January 2024 | KHRN
In its monthly reports, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) highlights cases of human rights violations in Kurdistan and violations of the rights of Kurdish civilians in different regions and cities across Iran.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/category/publications/monthly-reports/
- Killing and injuring 2206 Kolbars (porters) in the last 12 years AD (2012-2023)
05 January 2024 | Kurdpa
The Statistics Center of the Kurdish Human Rights Organization, at the end of 2023 AD, presents the statistics of killing and injuring Kolbars (porters) in the last 12 years AD in a detailed statistical report (from 2012 to 2023).
https://kurdpa.net/en/news/2024/01/10
- December 2023/January 2024: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
13 January 2024 | Kurdpa
More than 117 cases of human rights violations occurred in Rojhelat during the last 4 weeks.