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://komunacademy.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
- The suicide of a teenager, a victim of child marriage, in Saqqez
- Iran replaces IRGC’s intelligence chief
- Iran slams UN for ‘unjust, biased’ human rights report
- Kurdish political prisoner allegedly executed by Iran
- Continuing the wave of teacher arrests in Saqqez; The number of arrested teachers reached 20
- Mohammad Reza Moradi, member of the board of directors of Kurdistan Teachers’ Union – Sanandaj and Kalatarzan arrested
- Iran rounds up teachers as protests gain momentum
- The First PJAK Congress was held in Europe
- Execution of 9 Kurdish prisoners in the last five days
- The brutal murder of a woman by her husband in Sanandaj
- Iran border officer shoots Kurdish tradesman over verbal dispute
- Suspected car bomb injures Iranian-Kurdish oppostion member in Erbil
- IRGC forces kill Iraqi Kurdish tradesman on Qandil highlands
- Canada cancels soccer match with Iran amid protest
- Keeping IRGC on terror list no reason for halting nuclear deal talks: Iranian foreign minister
- The economics of social unrest in Iran
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- In Cahoots with the State, Iranian Court Sentences Lawyers, Activists Trying to Sue Officials to Prison
- Kurdish Political Prisoner Firuz Musalou’s Secret Execution Epitomises the Lawlessness and Repression in Iran
- Siamand Moeini: PJAK’s target is to ensure the interests of the people and our people to achieve freedom
- International Community Should Call on Iran to End Punitive Amputations
- Iran: UN experts alarmed by civil society crackdown
- Policy Briefing: Human Rights in Iran and U.S. National Security Interests
- Kermanshah: Situation of women’s section in Juvenile Detention Centre
- The dangerous plight of Kurdish kolbars
- World Environment Day 2022: Facts without conviction won’t spark climate action
- Iran Should Be Ejected from ILO’s Governing Board Says Iran’s National Teacher Organization
- As Millions Face Poverty, Iran’s Government Dissolves Largest NGO for the Poor
REPORTS
-
- Several human rights violations
- Hengaw reports on the arrest of more than 40 teachers and union activists indifferent cities of Kurdistan
- Imposing imprisonment sentence for 16 Kurdish activists in May 2022
- The arrest of 36 Kurdish citizens in May 2022
- 22 Kolbars were killed and wounded in May 2022
- May 2022: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
- In 2021, more than 8% of all executed prisoners in the world were Kurdish prisoners in Iran
- Human Rights Violations in Kurdistan of Iran
———————
NEWS
- The suicide of a teenager, a victim of child marriage, in Saqqez
23 June 2022 | Hengaw
A girl from Saqqez, who was the victim of a child-wife identified as Serveh Kamali, 16, hanged herself on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, and ended her life.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/the-suicide-of-a-teenager-a-victim-of-child-marriage-in-saqqez
- Iran replaces IRGC’s intelligence chief
23 June 2022 | Al-Monitor
Iran has replaced the head of the intelligence unit for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Taeb, the IRGC confirmed on Thursday.
“Guard Corps chief Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami appointed Gen. Mohammad Kazemi as the new head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization”…
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/06/iran-replaces-irgcs-intelligence-chief
- Iran slams UN for ‘unjust, biased’ human rights report
22 June 2022 | Rudaw
Iran on Tuesday slammed a recent UN report which criticized the human rights situation in the country saying it was “politically motivated” and “unjust. UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada al-Nashif on Tuesday presented a report by the body’s chief Antonio Guterres, criticizing the human rights situation in Iran, including the increase in the rate of executions, and the ill-treatment of protesters by security forces.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/22062022
- Kurdish political prisoner allegedly executed by Iran
20 June 2022 | Rudaw
A Kurdish political prisoner was allegedly executed by Iran on Monday having been accused of killing two Iranian border guards, according to a rights monitor. The Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) on Monday announced the execution of Firuz Musalou, saying he had been handcuffed and transferred from Urmia central prison to an unknown location on Sunday evening.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/200620221
- Continuing the wave of teacher arrests in Saqqez; The number of arrested teachers reached 20
17 June 2022 | Hengaw
Following the wave of arrests of teachers and members of the Teachers’ Union in Saqez, late in the evening of Thursday, June 16, 2022, two more teachers and members of the Kurdistan Teachers’ Union of Saqqez and Zivieh, identified as Dr. Hesam Khakpour and Hassan Rahimian, were arrested by intelligence forces.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/aram-ebrahimi-a-teacher-from-sanandaj-was-arrested
- Mohammad Reza Moradi, member of the board of directors of Kurdistan Teachers’ Union – Sanandaj and Kalatarzan arrested
16 June 2022 | Kurdpa
On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, Mohammad Reza Moradi, a member of the board of directors of the Kurdistan-Sanandaj and Kalatarzan Teachers’ Union, was arrested by security forces. According to an informed source, at 9 pm on Tuesday, security forces arrested the teachers’ union activist in front of his house without issuing a court order.
- Iran rounds up teachers as protests gain momentum
16 June 2022 | Al-Monitor
Thousands of teachers rallied across Iran on Thursday to demand a decent life and call for the release of their colleagues, who are languishing in state-run prisons. In most of the protests in the capital, Tehran, as well as in major cities including Ahvaz, Sari, Rasht, Sanandaj and Kermanshah, the teachers were surrounded by a palpable presence of riot police…
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/06/iran-rounds-teachers-protests-gain-momentum
- The First PJAK Congress was held in Europe
15 June 2022 | Rojhelat
PJAK held its first congress in European Countries from the 3rd June to the 5th June 2022.
The Organisation of Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) in Europe held its First Congress in Sweden from the 3rd June to the 5th June of 2022.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10992
- Execution of 9 Kurdish prisoners in the last five days
12 June 2022 | Hengaw
After identifying a citizen from Harsin who was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison last Thursday, the number of prisoners executed in different cities of Kurdistan has reached nine in the past five days.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/execution-of-9-kurdish-prisoners-in-the-last-five-days
- The brutal murder of a woman by her husband in Sanandaj
09 June 2022 | Hengaw
On Wednesday, June 8, 2022, at 7:30 PM, a young woman from Sanandaj, identified as Sargol Akbar and mother of three children, was struck by her husband with an iron hammer on the head and body…Erfan Ghaderi is from “Karahsi” village and is addicted to drugs. He escaped after committing the murder and has not been arrested yet.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/the-brutal-murder-of-a-woman-by-her-husband-in-sanandaj
- Iran border officer shoots Kurdish tradesman over verbal dispute
08 June 2022 | KHRN
An Iranian border officer shot and injured a Kurdish tradesman named Kanaan Yaghoubi inside the yard of the Bazargan customs office, in West Azerbaijan province, after a verbal argument took place between them.
- Suspected car bomb injures Iranian-Kurdish oppostion member in Erbil
06 June 2022 | Rudaw
A member of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition organization was injured in a suspected car bomb in Erbil on Monday, with no parties claiming responsibility for the incident as of yet.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/06062022
- IRGC forces kill Iraqi Kurdish tradesman on Qandil highlands
31 May 2022 | KHRN
Forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have opened fire on a group of tradesmen from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on the highlands of the Qandil Mountains, between Iran and the Kurdistan Region, on 28 May, killing a 30-year-old man named Kaywan Abdullah.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/irgc-forces-kill-iraqi-kurdish-tradesman-on-qandil-highlands/
- Canada cancels soccer match with Iran amid protest
27 May 2022 | Al-Monitor
Canada has cancelled an upcoming soccer match with Iran amid high tensions between the two countries. Yesterday, Canada Soccer released a statement saying it canceled the June 5 match against the Iranian national team in Vancouver. “Over the past week, the untenable geopolitical situation of hosting Iran became significantly divisive, and in response, the match was cancelled,” said the organization.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/05/canada-cancels-soccer-match-iran-amid-protest
- Keeping IRGC on terror list no reason for halting nuclear deal talks: Iranian foreign minister
26 May 2022 | Rudaw
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday held a conversation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, sharing his thoughts on the stalled nuclear deal talks and telling CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria that the importance of the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the US terrorist list is a “side issue.”
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/260520222
- The economics of social unrest in Iran
25 May 2022 | Al-Monitor
Iran is witnessing a new wave of social protest in reaction to the price hikes caused by the government’s reforms of direct and indirect subsidies. The public is unhappy with prolonged high inflation eating into purchasing power. Aside from the political consequences of these protests, the socio-economic damage will further weaken the Iranian economy.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/05/economics-social-unrest-iran
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- In Cahoots with the State, Iranian Court Sentences Lawyers, Activists Trying to Sue Officials to Prison
22 June 2022 | CHRI
For trying to sue Iranian leaders for their grossly negligent response to the COVID-19 pandemic, three lawyers and two civil rights activists have been sentenced to prison. “These individuals are being punished in order to send a message to the people of Iran: Seeking an accountable government in the Islamic Republic will land you in jail,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
- Kurdish Political Prisoner Firuz Musalou’s Secret Execution Epitomises the Lawlessness and Repression in Iran
21 June 2022 | IHR
Kurdish political prisoner Firuz Musalou was secretly executed in Urmia Central Prison on the morning of 20 June. He was from the village of Ghotoor in Khoy and was sentenced to death on charges of “moharebeh (enmity against god) for ‘armed uprising’ through membership in the PKK.”
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/5306/
- Siamand Moeini: PJAK’s target is to ensure the interests of the people and our people to achieve freedom
19 June 2022 | Rojhelat
The Kurdistan Free Life Party – PJAK held its first congress in Europe from the 3rd to the 5th June of 2022, with more than 100 active members of the party and guests from other political parties.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=11006
- International Community Should Call on Iran to End Punitive Amputations
15 June 2022 | CHRI
In violation of its international obligations against torture, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s judicial system has authorized prison authorities to amputate the fingers of eight prisoners accused of theft. The prisoners are Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharafian, Mehdi Shahivand, Yaghoub Fazeli, Amir Shirmard, Morteza Jalili, Ebrahim Rafiei, and one prisoner whose name has not been disclosed.
- Iran: UN experts alarmed by civil society crackdown
15 June 2022 | IHR
UN human rights experts* today expressed serious concerns about a violent crackdown against civil society in Iran, including members of workers’ unions and teachers arrested for protesting against their low salaries and poor working conditions, and urged those responsible for using excessive force to be held to account through comprehensive and independent investigations.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/5287/
- Policy Briefing: Human Rights in Iran and U.S. National Security Interests
14 June 2022 | CHRI
President Biden’s silence so far on the killings and mass arrests of protesters in Iran by state security forces over the last month—the latest in a long line of lethal state responses to dissent in Iran—reflects the U.S. government’s low prioritization of human rights in the country, and the continuation of a policy that is harming U.S. national security interests, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) today as it released a new briefing.
- Kermanshah: Situation of women’s section in Juvenile Detention Centre
07 June 2022 | KHRN
The families of some of the prisoners in the women’s ward of the Juvenile Detention Centre in Kermanshah spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) about the grave situation in the prison.
- The dangerous plight of Kurdish kolbars
06 June 2022 | Rudaw
Growing up in a poor village in Iran’s Baneh province, Faraidoon Farajpoor had to resort to working as a kolbar in order to provide for his family, until he was shot by Iranian border guards four years ago, and his one source of income was forever gone…
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/050620221
- World Environment Day 2022: Facts without conviction won’t spark climate action
05 June 2022 | K24
June 5th, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of the UN World Environment Day with the theme and launch of a global campaign entitled #OnlyOneEarth. The campaign calls upon international and local actors to transform policies and sets of choices to pursue a lifestyle that is cleaner, greener, and more sustainable towards the world’s shared nature.
- Iran Should Be Ejected from ILO’s Governing Board Says Iran’s National Teacher Organization
03 June 2022 | CHRI
In an open letter to the delegates at the ILO … currently being held in Geneva, Switzerland, the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, Iran’s national teachers’ organiza-tion, has requested that the Islamic Republic’s representatives be removed from the governing board of the ILO.
- As Millions Face Poverty, Iran’s Government Dissolves Largest NGO for the Poor
26 May 2022 | CHRI
While millions of Iranians are struggling to make ends meet, the Iranian government has shut down the country’s oldest and largest independent non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on poverty alleviation, the IAPSRS.
REPORTS
- Several human rights violations
20 June 2022 | Kurdpa
Between 16 and 20 June at least 41 human rights violations have been reported from Kurdistan.
https://kurdpa.net/en/news?Category=Human%20Rights
- Hengaw reports on the arrest of more than 40 teachers and union activists in
different cities of Kurdistan
17 June 2022 | Hengaw
More than 40 teachers have been detained by security forces in the cities of Sanandaj, Marivan, Saqqez, and Divandareh over the past two days, and only 7 of them have been released. The others are still in custody, and their fate is unknown.
- Imposing imprisonment sentence for 16 Kurdish activists in May 2022
05 June 2022 | Hengaw
During the last month, branches of the Revolutionary and Criminal Courts of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran have sentenced at least 16 Kurdish political and civil activists to prison.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/mposing-imprisonment-sentence-for-16-kurdish-activists-in-may-2022
- The arrest of 36 Kurdish citizens in May 2022
03 June 2022 | Hengaw
During the last month, at least the arrest of 36 Kurdish citizens by the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been recorded on charges of political and civil activities. These statistics have decreased by 7.5% (3 cases) compared to April.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/the-arrest-of-36-kurdish-citizens-in-may-2022
- 22 Kolbars were killed and wounded in May 2022
02 June 2022 | Hengaw
At least 22 Kurdish Kolbars and tradesmen were killed and wounded on the borders of Kurdistan in May. These statistics have decreased by 22 cases (104.5%) compared to the previous month. Last month 55 Kolbars and tradesmen had been killed and injured.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/22-kolbars-were-killed-and-wounded-in-may-2022
- May 2022: Human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan
01 June 2022 | KHRN
Investigations carried out by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) show that many Kurdish civilians and activists from Iran have become victims of human rights violations in May 2022.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/may-2022-human-rights-violations-in-iranian-kurdistan/
- In 2021, more than 8% of all executed prisoners in the world were Kurdish
prisoners in Iran
25 May 2022 | Hengaw
According to Amnesty International’s annual report on executions in 2021… it can be said that more than 8.2% of all executions in the world last year were Kurdish citizens in Iran.
https://hengaw.net/en/news/in-2021-more-than-8-of-all-executed-prisoners-in-the-world-were-kurdish-prisoners-in-iran
- Human Rights Violations in Kurdistan of Iran
May 2022 | KMMK
“This report provides up-to-date data and analysis on the situation of human rights in Kurdistan of Iran from January 1, 2022 until May 15th, 2022, prepared for the attention of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, UN agencies, media, governments and public attention.”