For more of the latest Kurdish news, see these sources:
ANF English: https://anfenglishmobile.com/
Hawar News: https://hawarnews.com/en/
Rojhelat: http://rojhelat.info/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
Kurdistan24: https://www.kurdistan24.net/en
Rudaw: https://www.rudaw.net/english
Al-Monitor: https://www.al-monitor.com
KHRN: http://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en
KMMK: https://kmmk-ge.org/
Hengaw: https://hengaw.net/en
NEWS
1. A Kolbar was wounded due to firings of government troops in the heights of “Tahteh” in Hawraman
2. IHR Calls on International Community to Save Heydar Ghorbani’s Life
3. Armed Kurdish group claims killed Iranian paramilitary official
4. A report about Mohammad Rahimi, a political prisoner sentenced to death
5. Hawraman’s walnut trees threatened with extinction
6. Kurdistan, Iran work to strengthen trade ties
7. Golaleh Moradi is under pressure to sign false confession from Iranian secret services
8. Detention of two Kurdish nationals from Sanandaj to serve their sentenced in prison
9. Sanandaj; Removal of Kurdish language from official boards of Kurdistan University
10. Divandarreh; Arrest of Chero Ahmadi, Kurdish language teacher
11. Latest report on Nasrin Kianpour, a political prisoner in Evin Prison
12. Four human rights organizations in a join statement condemned the threat against the families of members of the Hangaw organization
13. Lawyers, Activists Arrested as they Attempt to Sue State for Failed COVID Response
14. KRG to discuss water shortage with Turkey, Iran: statement
15. Young man murdered by Iranian forces at Şemdinli border
16. Kurdish Political Prisoner Heydar Ghorbani at Imminent Risk of Execution After Retrial Denied by Supreme Court
17. Brutal killing of family renews spotlight on domestic violence in Iranian Kurdistan
18. Musician Marjan Farsad’s New Song Pays Tribute to Iranian Political Prisoners
19. PJAK releases identity of two of its fighters killed in clashes with IRGC
20. Erbil court sentences 3 to death in killing of Iranian Kurdish commander
21. Top Sunni cleric laments Iran’s discrimination against minorities
22. Total Control Over Internet Use in Iran Sought by Security Agencies with New Legislation
23. Detention of a woman in Bokan
24. U.S., EU Must Speak Out Forcefully to Avoid Further Bloodshed in Iran
25. Iraqi Kurdistan water crisis blamed on climate and Iran
26. Fair brings culture of Iranian Kurdistan to Duhok
27. UNESCO adds Iranian Kurdistan’s Hawraman to World Heritage List
28. IHR Gravely Concerned About Fate of Detained Protesters and Rising Death Toll
29. ‘Death to the dictator’: water shortage protests reach Iranian capital
30. How water has become a flashpoint in the Middle East
31. Rising COVID Infections, Unhygienic Conditions Raise Fears of More Deaths in Iranian Prisons
OPINION
1. The Statement of the Democratic Platform of Iran in Support of Protests and Demands for the Rights of Women and All other liberation People of Afghanistan
2. The hundreds of years of brotherhood of the Kurdish and Azeri nations in Naghadeh should be preserved.
3. The Shengal Resistance was the liberation of the Kurdish people and women
4. PJAK: Hewraman has performed a significant historical role in the development of Kurdistan civilization
5. The East Kurdish Women’s Association KJAR launches campaign against child marriage
REPORTS
1. The Life of an Iranian Child Bride: An Animation by Marjan Farsad
2. Fact Sheet: LGBTQ Community in Iran Faces Deadly Violence and Severe Rights Abuses
3. The Arts and Human Rights: Introducing the “Sweet Destiny” Album and Film
4. Sirwan Massacre: 35 years since tragedy hits displaced Kurds in Halabja area
5. Human rights violations (Kurdpa)
6. Monthly report: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
NEWS
1. A Kolbar was wounded due to firings of government troops in the heights of “Tahteh” in Hawraman
31 August 2021 | Kurdpa
On Tuesday, August 24th, a Kurdish Kolbar named “Maroof Advaei” from the village of “Slen” in the city of Sarvabad was wounded by government troops in the heights of “Tahteh” in Hawraman.
2. IHR Calls on International Community to Save Heydar Ghorbani’s Life
29 August 2021 | IHR
Relatives of Kurdish political prisoner Heydar Ghorbani tell IHR he is due to be executed in the coming days. He was sentenced to death on charges of baghy (armed rebellion) without any evidence or a confession. Iran Human Rights calls for his execution to be immediately halted and asks the international community for urgent action to save his life.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4866/
3. Armed Kurdish group claims killed Iranian paramilitary official
29 August 2021 | Rudaw
An Iranian-Kurdish opposition group claimed on Sunday to have killed an official from Iran’s Basij paramilitary force. Taher Pourdaranab, labeled a “notorious spy,” was in charge of a Basij base in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province…
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/29082021
4. A report about Mohammad Rahimi, a political prisoner sentenced to death
29 August 2021 | Hengaw
A political prisoner from Bokan was arrested three years ago by the security services of the Islamic Republic of Iran and sentenced to death. The news of his arrest and death sentence has not been reported in the media.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/a-report-about-mohammad-rahimi-a-political-prisoner-sentenced-to-death
5. Hawraman’s walnut trees threatened with extinction
28 August 2021 | Rudaw
The famous walnut trees in Hawraman, on the Kurdistan Region’s border with Iran, are under the threat of extinction due to drought.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/28082021
6. Kurdistan, Iran work to strengthen trade ties
27 August 2021 | K24
Dozens of business leaders from the Kurdistan Region and Iran held a symposium on Friday to enhance cooperation and promote trade between the region and its eastern neighbor.
https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/25384-Kurdistan,-Iran-work-to-strengthen-trade-ties
7. Golaleh Moradi is under pressure to sign false confession from Iranian secret services
25 August 2021 | Hengaw
Golaleh Moradi has been sent back and forth from prison to secret services detention center for interrogation and has been tortured and forced to sign a false confession otherwise they will detain her two sons who they had them detained with her initially. And threatened if she does not confess to what they want, her sons will face heavy consequences.
8. Detention of two Kurdish nationals from Sanandaj to serve their sentenced in prison
22 August 2021 | Hengaw
on Monday, August 16, 2021, two Kurdish nationals from Tangisar village in Sanandaj County, Sirvan Arghawani and Farzad Sadeqian, were arrested to serve their six months sentenced and transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison… accused of collaboration with a kurdish opposition party known as the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan.
9. Sanandaj; Removal of Kurdish language from official boards of Kurdistan University
22 August 2021 | Kurdpa
The Basij student of Kurdistan University removed the Kurdish language from the official boards of this university. This action of Kurdistan University Basij student has caused dissatisfaction among the student activists of this university and so far the university officials have not commented in this regard.
10. Divandarreh; Arrest of Chero Ahmadi, Kurdish language teacher
21 August 2021 | Kurdpa
On Monday, August 16th, Chero (Jaleh) Ahmadi, a Kurdish language teacher and a member of the board of directors of the Zagros Cultural and Social Institute in Divandarreh, was arrested by security forces and taken to an unknown location.
https://kurdpa.net/en/news/divandarreh-arrest-of-chero-ahmadi-kurdish-language-teacher
11. Latest report on Nasrin Kianpour, a political prisoner in Evin Prison
19 August 2021 | Hengaw
Nasrin Kianpour, a 34-year-old Kurdish national from Bijar and a residing in Sanandaj, was arrested by security forces in Tehran on Friday, July 18, 2021…accused of collaborating with Kurdish opposition parties and supporting terrorism by Iranian secret services …
12. Four human rights organizations in a join statement condemned the threat against the families of members of the Hangaw organization
19 August 2021 | Hengaw
Four human rights organizations active in Kurdistan issued a statement condemning the threat of two members of the board committee of Hengaw Human Rights Organization…
13. Lawyers, Activists Arrested as they Attempt to Sue State for Failed COVID Response
17 August 2021 | CHRI
The unlawful arrests of six prominent lawyers and civil rights activists in Tehran as they were preparing to file a lawsuit against state officials for their gross mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic is an indication of the worsening human rights situation under the newly inaugurated President Ebrahim Raisi and new Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei.
14. KRG to discuss water shortage with Turkey, Iran: statement
15 August 2021 | Rudaw
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced a new plan to fight water scarcity in the Region, which includes meeting with Turkish and Iranian authorities, its media department said in a statement late Friday.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/130820214
15. Young man murdered by Iranian forces at Şemdinli border
15 August 2021 | ANF
Iranian forces murdered a young man at the border with the Kurdish region of Turkey. According to the report, 20-year-old Rüstem Çakmak was killed in the village of Şikevtan, in Şemdinli district of Hakkari.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/young-man-murdered-by-iranian-forces-at-Semdinli-border-54188
16. Kurdish Political Prisoner Heydar Ghorbani at Imminent Risk of Execution After Retrial Denied by Supreme Court
12 August 2021 | IHR
Branch 2 of the Supreme Court rejected Heydar Ghorbani’s request for a retrial according to Article 477 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), and his case has instead been sent to the Judgement Enforcement for implementation. Heydar Ghorbani is a Kurdish political prisoner in Sanandaj Central Prison who was sentenced to death on charges of baghy…
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4855/
17. Brutal killing of family renews spotlight on domestic violence in Iranian Kurdistan
07 August 2021 | Rudaw
The sound of pained wails travelled down the street from the Mandumi family residence in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj on Saturday morning. Mourners gathered at the residence in the Faizawa neighborhood to pay their respects to the family which was killed in yet another tragic case of fatal domestic violence that has shocked many in Kurdish areas of western Iran.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/070820213
18. Musician Marjan Farsad’s New Song Pays Tribute to Iranian Political Prisoners
05 August 2021 | CHRI
Iranian American musician and songwriter Marjan Farsad released a new song today about political prisoners in Iran, a country where people are jailed for peacefully exercising basic human rights such as free speech.
19. PJAK releases identity of two of its fighters killed in clashes with IRGC
04 August 2021 | Rudaw
The Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) on Wednesday released the identities of two of its members that were killed when clashes erupted with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in western Iran last week.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/070820213
20. Erbil court sentences 3 to death in killing of Iranian Kurdish commander
02 August 2021 | Rudaw
Erbil’s criminal court on Monday sentenced three people to death for the 2018 murder of a Kurdish Iranian commander.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/020820212
21. Top Sunni cleric laments Iran’s discrimination against minorities
30 July 2021 | Al-Monitor
The highest-ranking and most popular Sunni cleric in Iran, Mawlawi Abdul-Hamid, expressed concern for the overall situation of minorities in Iran under the Islamic Republic, saying the same ethnicities in neighboring countries and the Persian Gulf region “are better off.”…
The cleric also raised the same concern about Iran’s Kurdish community, whose fellows “are doing way better in neighboring Iraq and Turkey … while in Iran, they do suffer from extreme discrimination.”
22. Total Control Over Internet Use in Iran Sought by Security Agencies with New Legislation
30 July 2021 | CHRI
In a bid to sidestep public scrutiny of a contentious new bill that would give Iran’s security agencies near-total control over internet use inside the country, the Iranian Parliament has voted to refer the bill to an internal committee that has the power to pass legislation without full parliamentary review.
23. Detention of a woman in Bokan
29 July 2021 | Kurdpa
On the evening of Saturday, July 24th, a Kurdish citizen named “Kajal Amini”, the daughter of Rasoul from Bokan, was arrested by security forces. This citizen was arrested after clashes between Revolutionary Guards forces and forces of a Kurdish party in Bokan.
https://kurdpa.net/en/news/detention-of-a-woman-in-bokan
24. U.S., EU Must Speak Out Forcefully to Avoid Further Bloodshed in Iran
29 July 2021 | CHRI
As state security forces in Iran continue to violently suppress peaceful protests that erupted in Khuzestan province and have since spread to other areas of the country, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) calls on the U.S. and European countries to condemn the government’s lethal use of force against the protesters…
25. Iraqi Kurdistan water crisis blamed on climate and Iran
29 July 2021 | Al-Monitor
Citizens in the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Erbil, are now buying water at prices exceeding $50 per tanker, as water has been cut off for more than two weeks in most areas of the Kurdish capital… In an interview with Al-Monitor, Kurdish activist Murad Majid said he considers Iran’s water cut a war on Kurdistan Region, adding this is not the first time Iran has cut off water from Iraq and Kurdistan Region in particular.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/07/iraqi-kurdistan-water-crisis-blamed-climate-and-iran
26. Fair brings culture of Iranian Kurdistan to Duhok
28 July 2021 | K24
Entering the Iranian Kurdistan fair in Duhok, there’s an immediate feeling of familiarity with the culture and craftsmanship on display. Distinctive carpets, Kurdish dress, traditional kalash shoes, and handmade vases are all laid out among 20 shops set up for the fair, along with jewelry made from beautiful stones and Daf drums.
https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/25122-Fair-brings-culture-of-Iranian-Kurdistan-to-Duhok
27. UNESCO adds Iranian Kurdistan’s Hawraman to World Heritage List
27 July 2021 | K24
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inducted the Kurdish-majority region of Iran known as Hawraman into its World Heritage List.
28. IHR Gravely Concerned About Fate of Detained Protesters and Rising Death Toll
26 July 2021 | CHRI
Eleven days after the peaceful Khuzestan protests began due to water shortages, protests have spread to Isfahan, Kurdistan, East Azerbaijan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, North Khorasan, Lorestan, Bushehr, Alborz and Tehran provinces. There are also reports of live ammunition being used to suppress the protests resulting in at least ten protesters being killed in Khuzestan and Lorestan and widespread arrests across Iran.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4826/
29. ‘Death to the dictator’: water shortage protests reach Iranian capital
26 July 2021 | Rudaw
Water protests reached the streets of Tehran on Monday as anger grows over water shortages and a lack of basic services. Scores of angry protesters gathered on the capital’s Jomhouri street chanting against the government, and specifically the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/26072021
30. How water has become a flashpoint in the Middle East
23 July 2021 | Al-Monitor
The disruption of water supply has long been a potential catalyst for conflict or instability in the arid Middle East. But it’s never been as prominent a risk as it is now… Iran’s water crisis is not limited to Khuzestan province, but that is where it is more acutely felt, and it is exacerbated by Iran’s energy crisis.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/07/how-water-has-become-flashpoint-middle-east
31. Rising COVID Infections, Unhygienic Conditions Raise Fears of More Deaths in Iranian Prisons
22 July 2021 | CHRI
The start of a fifth COVID-19 wave in Iran, amidst national water and electricity shortages and unhygienic prison conditions, has greatly increased the risks of outbreaks among prisoners, some of whom have died and a growing number of whom are testing positive for the virus.
OPINION
1. The Statement of the Democratic Platform of Iran in Support of Protests and Demands for the Rights of Women and All other liberation People of Afghanistan
22 August 2021 | Rojhelat
While announcing its support for the protests of various peoples and factions in Afghanistan against the Taliban retardation, the Iranian Democratic Platform has emphasized the solidarity of the liberation.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10662
2. The hundreds of years of brotherhood of the Kurdish and Azeri nations in Naghadeh should be preserved.
09 August 2021 | Rojhelat
The Naghadeh’s event, in which a young man was killed in a local conflict, became an excuse for the Iranian regime to opportunistically exploit it politically and the fascist policies. The shop-owners’ strike with the closure of the market is fundamentally a protest against the regime’s racist policies.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10659
3. The Shengal Resistance was the liberation of the Kurdish people and women
03 August 2021 | Rojhelat
On the 3rd August 2014, the Yazidi Kurdish people faced the 74th massacre by ISIS and supporters of the global capitalism that was a disgrace to humanity and the Middle East. Today, the danger of massacres other than Shengal still threatens all four parts of Kurdistan.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10657
4. PJAK: Hewraman has performed a significant historical role in the development of Kurdistan civilization
02 August 2021 | Rojhelat
The Joint Leadership of the Kurdistan Freedom Life Party (PJAK) has announced a statement declaring the cultural aspect registration of Hewraman by UNESCO World Heritage Site is eligible valued and emphasised the necessity to preserve the identity and society of Hewraman aside from the poisonous mentality of statehood.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10649
5. The East Kurdish Women’s Association KJAR launches campaign against child marriage
27 July 2021 | Rojhelat
The Community of Free Women of Eastern Kurdistan (Komalgeha Jinên Azad ên Rojhilatê Kurdistan, KJAR) has launched a campaign against child marriage in Iran. As the women’s association announced, the initiative came about as part of the campaigns against femicide and executions of women that have been going on since the beginning of the year.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10631
REPORTS
1. The Life of an Iranian Child Bride: An Animation by Marjan Farsad
30 August 2021 | CHRI
By the age of eleven, “Raha” already had seven children. Married off to a man five times her age, she was in poor health when her situation was accidentally discovered in the Iranian city of Ilham by a charity that was later disbanded by the government.
2. Fact Sheet: LGBTQ Community in Iran Faces Deadly Violence and Severe Rights Abuses
26 August 2021 | CHRI
In a new LGBTQ Fact Sheet published today by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), the extreme rights violations and deadly violence perpetrated by both the state and society against the LGBTQ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer) in Iran are highlighted in a concise, accessible format for researchers, journalists, and policymakers
3. The Arts and Human Rights: Introducing the “Sweet Destiny” Album and Film
25 August 2021 | IHR
Pioneering Iranian alternative rock band, Kiosk have released a new musical film and album titled “Sweet Destiny.” Based on a historic 1853 photograph of a public execution by cannon fire in Iran, it is the first professional Farsi language album or film of its kind to be dedicated to the subject of the death penalty.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4864/
4. Sirwan Massacre: 35 years since tragedy hits displaced Kurds in Halabja area
06 August 2021 | K24
200 Hawrami Kurds, mostly women and children, were killed in fires started by Iranian artillery shelling of the Sirwan area in what is now Halabja province of the Kurdistan Region.
5. Human rights violations
July-August 2021 | Kurdpa
Kurdpa reports at least 13 cases of human rights violations between 26 July and 31 August 2021.
https://kurdpa.net/en/news?Category=Kurdistan
6. Monthly report: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
July 2021 | KHRN
Investigations carried out by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) show that many Kurdish civilians from Iran have become victims of human rights violations in July 2021.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Email: estella@gn.apc.org
https://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peaceinkurdistan1/
Contacts Estella Schmid: 07846 666 804 & Melanie Gingell: 07572 430903
Patrons: John Austin, Baroness Blower of Starch Green, former GS NUT, Prof Bill Bowring, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Prof Mary Davis, Lord Dholakia, Simon Dubbins, UNITE International Director, Jill Evans, former MEP, Desmond Fernandes, Lindsey German, Convenor STWC, Melanie Gingell, Christopher Gingell, Prof Dr. Michael Gunter, Secretary-General, EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), Rahila Gupta, journalist, Nick Hildyard, policy advisor, Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Cymru, James Kelman, Bruce Kent, Jean Lambert, former MEP, Dr Les Levidow, Open University, Elfyn Llwyd, John McDonnell MP; Aonghas MacNeacail, Scottish Gaelic poet, Mike Mansfield QC, David Morgan, journalist, Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, GFTU, Dr. Jessica Ayesha Northey, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Kate Osamor MP, Margaret Owen OBE, Ali Gul Ozbek, Former Councillor and Mayor of Haringey; Gareth Peirce, Dr Felix Padel, Maxine Peake, actor, Dr Thomas Phillips, Liverpool John Moores University, Trevor Rayne, writer, Joe Ryan, Tony Simpson, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, Stephen Smellie, PIK Trade Union Liaison Officer, Jonathan Steele, journalist, Steve Sweeney, journalist, Gianni Tognoni, General Secretary Permanent People’s Tribunal, Dr Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Dr Federico Venturini, Associate Researcher, University of Udine, Italy; Dr Tom Wakeford, Dr Derek Wall, Julie Ward, former MEP, Kariane Westrheim, Chair, EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC); Hywel Williams MP.