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. Khuzestan Protests: Iranians Should be Allowed to Air Grievances Without Threat of Death

2. Political analyst: Iraq will see escalation between US forces, Iran-backed militias

3. Three killed during protests against water shortage in Iran

4. Urmia; Detention of a citizen by security forces

5. Refugees from Afghanistan arrive in North Kurdistan

6. Assassination of a political activist from Sanandaj in the city of Sulaymaniyah

7. Facebook says Iranian hackers spied on US military personnel using fake accounts

8. Iran tells Iraqi militias to attack US, while Pentagon affirms right of self-defense

9. A Kurdish asylum seeker from Naqadeh who has applied for asylum in Germany for the past three years, is at risk of immediate deportation.

10. Murder of a Kolbar at the borders of Urmia

11. Blast of unexploded bomb kills two in Saqqez

12. Russia, Iran, and Turkey reject Kurdish self-rule in Syria

13. Iran hosts Afghan government, Taliban for talks

14. Nahid Kamangar, daughter of Kurdish political prisoner, Hussein Kamangar, arrested by Iranian security forces

15. Crack along Kurdistan Region trade route poses major risk to safety, economy: Geologist

16. Iranian consul general ‘strongly denies’ being behind Erbil attacks

17. A report about female Kurdish political prisoner, Avashin Zagros in one of the Iranian security detention centers in Sanandaj

18. Iran fears ‘fifth wave’ of Covid linked to Delta variant

19. YRK fighter: Guerrilla is the only way to emancipation

20. Iran power cuts fuel fears in Iraq as scorching summer peaks

21. Oil Industry Strikes Gain Support Across Iran, Raising Prospect of Confrontation with State

22. Kolbar injured in Kermanshah

23. Raisi’s election brings rise of Iran’s Hezbollahis

 

OPINION

1. Rights Groups: Iranian Dissidents Remain at Risk Worldwide Without International Action

2. Press Release Regarding the Situation of Mr. Alireza Farshi, the imprisoned Azerbaijani

3. The labourers’ strikes need the support of the popular movement

4. The elections turned into appointing and political coups of 1400 (2021)

 

REPORTS

1. Human Rights

2. June 2021: Monthly report on Human Rights Violations in Iranian Kurdistan

3. June monthly report: Iranian Kurds victims of human rights violations

 

———————

 

NEWS

1. Khuzestan Protests: Iranians Should be Allowed to Air Grievances Without Threat of Death

19 July 2021 | CHRI

The unlawful killings of protesters by state security forces in Iran’s drought-ridden Khuzestan Province should be condemned by the UN and international community to prevent further loss of life from excessive and unlawful state force, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said in a statement today.

https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2021/07/khuzestan-protests-iranians-should-be-allowed-to-air-grievances-without-threat-of-death/

 

2. Political analyst: Iraq will see escalation between US forces, Iran-backed militias

18 July 2021 | K24

A recent spike in rocket and drone attacks on US buildings or forces in Iraq by Iranian-backed militias is likely to produce new escalations as the Americans are now willing to confront them, according to a political analyst in the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/25045-Political-analyst:-Iraq-will-see-escalation-between-US-forces,-Iran-backed-militias

 

3. Three killed during protests against water shortage in Iran

18 July 2021 | ANF

Three demonstrators have died in protests against water shortages in southwestern Iran. According to activists, the men, aged between 18 and 30, were fatally shot by gunfire by Iranian security forces.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/three-killed-during-protests-against-water-shortage-in-iran-53556

 

4. Urmia; Detention of a citizen by security forces

17 July 2021 | Kurdpa

On Sunday, July 11th, a citizen named “Shirzad Shoghi Ghassemlou”, the son of Khalid from the village of “Mam Ibrahim” was arrested by security forces in Urmia and transferred to an unknown location.

https://kurdpa.net/en/news/urmia-detention-of-a-citizen-by-security-forces-1

 

5. Refugees from Afghanistan arrive in North Kurdistan

17 July 2021 | ANF

The situation in Afghanistan is becoming more dramatic by the day. The Taliban are taking over large areas of the country, and many are left only to flee war and Islamist terror. According to the UNHCR, 270,000 people have been displaced in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/human-rights/refugees-from-afghanistan-arrive-in-north-kurdistan-53532

 

6. Assassination of a political activist from Sanandaj in the city of Sulaymaniyah

16 July 2021 | Hengaw

According to a report received by the Hengaw Human Rights Organization, at noon on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, a political activist from Sanandaj, identified as Behrouz Rahimi… was killed by unknown individuals.

https://hengaw.net/en/news/assassination-of-a-political-activist-from-sanandaj-in-the-city-of-sulaymaniyah

 

7. Facebook says Iranian hackers spied on US military personnel using fake accounts

15 July 2021 | Al-Monitor

A group of Iranian hackers used fake Facebook accounts to target US military personnel, as well as defense and aerospace workers, the social media company said Thursday.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/07/facebook-says-iranian-hackers-spied-us-military-personnel-using-fake-accounts

 

8. Iran tells Iraqi militias to attack US, while Pentagon affirms right of self-defense

14 July 2021 | K24

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Hossein Taeb, intelligence chief for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), visited Baghdad last week and “urged Iraqi Shiite militias to step up attacks on US targets” in retaliation for US airstrikes against the militias on June 27 along the Syrian-Iraqi border.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/25014-Iran-tells-Iraqi-militias-to-attack-US,-while-Pentagon-affirms-right-of-self-defense

 

9. A Kurdish asylum seeker from Naqadeh who has applied for asylum in Germany for the past three years, is at risk of immediate deportation

10 July 2021 | Hengaw

According to a report received by the Hengaw Human Rights Organization, a Kurdish political asylum seeker identified as “Shahram Tajgardoun” from the village of “Qarna” in the city of Naqadeh, West Azerbaijan, is in serious danger of being deported to Iran after his asylum application in Germany has rejected.

https://hengaw.net/en/news/a-kurdish-asylum-seeker-is-in-danger-of-deportation-immediately-from-germany

 

10. Murder of a Kolbar at the borders of Urmia

10 July 2021 | Hengaw

According to a report received by the Hengaw Human Rights Organization, on Friday, July 9 2021, Revolutionary Guards forces fired at a number of Kolbars in the Banar Valley in  the Margavar Rural District in Urmia and a Kolbar identified as “Abdolaziz Hajipour”, 43,  has been killed.

https://hengaw.net/en/news/murder-of-a-kolbar-at-the-borders-of-urmia

 

11. Blast of unexploded bomb kills two in Saqqez

9 July 2021 | KHRN

An unexploded bomb from the Iran-Iraq war went off yesterday, killing two Kurdish civilians in Saqqez, Kurdistan province. Maghsoud Najafi and Rashid Ahmadzadeh lost their lives in the blast while grazing livestock near Bastam village of Saqqez, sources said.

https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/blast-of-unexploded-war-bomb-kills-two-in-saqqez/

 

12. Russia, Iran, and Turkey reject Kurdish self-rule in Syria

8 July 2021 | K24

Russia, Iran, and Turkey said in a joint statement on Thursday that they reject Kurdish self-rule in northeastern Syria, a sign of opposition to the continued presence of the US in the region.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/24963-Russia,-Iran,-and-Turkey-reject-Kurdish-self-rule-in-Syria

 

13. Iran hosts Afghan government, Taliban for talks

7 July 2021 | Al-Monitor

Iran hosted intra-Afghan talks on Wednesday as the date of the US military withdrawal nears…The Afghan government — supported by US and NATO forces — has been at war with the Taliban since the US invasion in 2001, which ended Taliban rule.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/07/iran-hosts-afghan-government-taliban-talks

 

14. Nahid Kamangar, daughter of Kurdish political prisoner, Hussein Kamangar, arrested by Iranian security forces

7 July 2021 | Hengaw

According to a report received by Hengaw Human Rights Organization, on Monday, July 6, 2021, Nahid Kamangar, from Kamyaran, was arrested after being summoned to the Iranian Intelligence Office in the city and transferred to the women’s ward of the Sanandaj Correctional Center. Nahid Kamangar is a student of Kurdish language and literature at Kurdistan University.

https://hengaw.net/en/news/nahid-kamangar-daughter-of-kurdish-political-prisoner-hussein-kamangar-arrested-by-iranian-security-forces

 

15. Crack along Kurdistan Region trade route poses major risk to safety, economy: Geologist

6 July 2021 | K24

A local geologist has warned that a crack in the earth located in the Kurdistan Region’s district of Soran poses a significant threat of a hazardous landslide on one of the main trade routes connecting Erbil to Iran.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/24940-Crack-along-Kurdistan-Region-trade-route-poses-major-risk-to-safety,-economy:-Geologist

 

16. Iranian consul general ‘strongly denies’ being behind Erbil attacks

6 July 2021 | Rudaw

Tehran’s consul general to Sulaimani denied Iranian involvement in the Erbil rocket attacks on Tuesday, stating a lack of security in the region would result in instability in his country.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/060720211

 

17. A report about female Kurdish political prisoner, Avashin Zagros in one of the Iranian security detention centers in Sanandaj

6 July 2021 | Hengaw

A female Kurdish citizen from Syria who was captured  in fall 2020 following an armed clash between Free Kurdistan Life Party (PJAK) guerrillas and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Forces in Marivan district of Kurdistan Province is still being held in a security detention Center in Sanandaj.

https://hengaw.net/en/news/a-report-about-female-kurdish-political-prisoner-avashin-zagros-in-one-of-the-iranian-security-detention-centers-in-sanandaj

 

18. Iran fears ‘fifth wave’ of Covid linked to Delta variant

3 July 2021 | K24

…COVID-19 has killed more than 84,000 people out of over 3.2 million detected infections in the Islamic republic, according to official figures that authorities admit do not account for all infections.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/24914-Iran-fears-%27fifth-wave%27-of-Covid-linked-to-Delta-variant

 

19. YRK fighter: Guerrilla is the only way to emancipation

2 July 2021 | ANF

The invasion attacks launched by the Turkish army against Avashin, Zap and Metina in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) continue. The guerrillas are putting up historic resistance against the attacks. One of the guerrillas from the battleground is Cengawer Qendil, who is from Mahabad in Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan, Iran).

https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/yrk-fighter-guerrilla-is-the-only-way-to-emancipation-53193

 

20. Iran power cuts fuel fears in Iraq as scorching summer peaks

30 June 2021 | K24

Iran halted its crucial supply of power to Iraq, fueling fears of protests Tuesday amid instability following the resignation of Iraq’s electricity minister.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/24881-Iran-power-cuts-fuel-fears-in-Iraq-as-scorching-summer-peaks

 

21. Oil Industry Strikes Gain Support Across Iran, Raising Prospect of Confrontation with State

29 June 2021 | CHRI

The continuation of strikes in Iran’s critical oil and petrochemical facilities—not seen on this scale for more than four decades—and the massive show of support from workers in other sectors, may well be a turning point in the history of Iran’s labor protests.

https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2021/06/oil-industry-strikes-gain-support-across-iran-raising-prospect-of-confrontation-with-state/

 

22. Kolbar injured in Kermanshah

29 June 2021 | ANF

According to the Kolbarnews, a kolbar fell off the cliffs and was injured in the border region of Newsud affiliated to the Kermanshah city on Tuesday, June 28…In the last months, attacks targeting kolbars have escalated. Kolbars have faced a systematic and arbitrary attacks of Iranian and Turkish states.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/kolbar-injured-in-kermanshah-53130

 

23. Raisi’s election brings rise of Iran’s Hezbollahis

28 June 2021 | Al-Monitor

Nothing came unexpectedly in the Iranian presidential race. While Ebrahim Raisi’s election was a done deal, the only questions were about the size of voter turnout and who would vote for him.

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/06/raisis-election-brings-rise-irans-hezbollahis

 

OPINION

1. Rights Groups: Iranian Dissidents Remain at Risk Worldwide Without International Action

19 July 2021 | CHRI

In a joint statement released today, 10 human rights groups, including the Center for Human Rights in Iran, urged the international community to hold Iranian authorities accountable for their ongoing campaigns of persecution against Iranian dissidents based inside and outside the country, and called on Iranian authorities to release all individuals imprisoned for peaceful expression.

https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2021/07/rights-groups-iranian-dissidents-remain-at-risk-worldwide-without-international-action/

 

2. Press Release Regarding the Situation of Mr. Alireza Farshi, the imprisoned Azerbaijani Turks’ Human and Civil Rights Activist in Iran

16 July 2021 | Iran Human Rights

Association for the Human Rights of Azerbaijani People in Iran (AHRAZ) has been informed that authorities in Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary (also known as Fashafouyeh prison) have been subjecting the Azerbaijani Turks’ human and civil rights activist Mr. Alireza Farshi to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatments and are currently denying him access to the medical care he needs. According to the information received, he is at risk of losing sight in his left eye without specialized health care.

https://iranhr.net/en/statement/51/

 

3. The labourers’ strikes need the support of the popular movement

11 July 2021 | Rojhelat

The labourers’ strike of the oil, gas and petrochemical arena in protest the country’s poor living conditions and miserable economy in Iran has begun as a democratic right and has been supported internally and externally. Such as “The Democratic and Freedom Society of East Kurdistan (KODAR)”, we state our support for this democratic struggle.

http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10614

 

3. The elections turned into appointing and political coups of 1400 (2021)

2 July 2021 | Rojhelat

The thirteenth presidential election in Iran was boycotted by the opposition outside of Iran and East Kurdistan, as well as part of operating inside Iran. The Democratic Freedom Society of East Kurdistan (KODAR) The Kurdistan Freedom Life Party (PJAK) also strongly boycotted the election. Overall, with felicity to the active stances of the Iranian people, the boycott, as expected, such a radical civil and political front emerged and achieved significant results.

http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10609

 

REPORTS

1. Human Rights

21 July 2021 | Kurdpa

Kurdpa reports at least 15 cases of human rights violations between 26 June and 21 July 2021.

https://kurdpa.net/en/news?Category=Hot%20Topics

 

2. June 2021: Monthly report on Human Rights Violations in Iranian Kurdistan

7 July 2021 | Hengaw

According to the statistics recorded in the Statistics and Data Documentation Center of Hengaw Human Rights Organization, during June 2021, at least 68 human rights violations were recorded in Iranian Kurdistan.

https://hengaw.net/en/news/june-2021-monthly-report-on-human-rights-violations-in-iranian-kurdistan

 

3. June monthly report: Iranian Kurds victims of human rights violations

1 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 June 2021.

https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/june-monthly-report-iranian-kurds-victims-of-human-rights-violations/

 

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,  Maggie Cook, UNISON women activist; 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, Bert Schouwenburg, International Trade Union Adviser; 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.