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
Komun Academy:
Center for Human Rights in Iran
https://www.iranhumanrights.org/
Iran Human Rights
Kurdistan Press Agency
http://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en
KMMK
Hengaw
NEWS
1. Detention of another citizen in Dehloran
2. Armed Kurdish group kills IRGC commander: KDPI
3. Iran grants amnesty to six Kurdish prisoners of conscience
4. Kurdish politician files lawsuit against Iran’s Rouhani
5. Iranian Government Responsible to Protect Prisoners against Fourth Wave of COVID
6. Omar Faqihpour, a Kurdish political prisoner, released after 21 years in prison
7. Iran suspends human rights talks, cooperation with EU after IRGC chief sanctioned
8. Tehran says Natanz nuclear complex failure was a ‘terrorist act’
9. The imprisonment sentences of two Kurdish citizens arrested during the mass arrest wave of Kurdish citizens in January 2021 extended for the 4th time
10. Despite the talks … IAEA unveils a new violation of Iran
11. Human Rights Defenders Saba Kordafshari and Raheleh Ahmadi Returned to Prison
12. The imprisonment sentences of two Kurdish citizens arrested during the mass arrest wave of Kurdish citizens in January 2021 extended for the 4th time
13. Dramatic human rights situation in Rojhelat
14. Security forces detain four Kurdish civilians following Newroz celebrations in Iranian
15. Iran’s soft power assimilates Kurds
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Panorama: Escalation between Iran and Israel and difficult prospects facing Lebanon
2. Walking in a Minefield Without a Map: The Life of an Iranian Human Rights Lawyer
3. Iran not backing down in Middle East, US intel report says
REPORTS
1. Monthly report on the human rights situation in Kurdistan in March 2021
2. From April 2020 to April 2021 at least 38 civilians killed and wounded in landmine explosions in Iranian Kurdistan
3. Iranian Kurdistan in March: a prisoner executed, a civilian killed by police, three kolbars died, many civilians arrested, imprisoned
4. Annual Report on the Death Penalty- 2020
EVENTS
1. Global Kurdish Film Festival from 16 to 27 April 2021
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NEWS
1. Detention of another citizen in Dehloran
17 April 2021 | Kurdpa
On the morning of Tuesday, April 13th, a Kurdish citizen named “Saeed Karami” from the city of “Pahleh”, the center of the “Zarrinabad” district in Dehloran, was arrested by security forces…on charges of “collaborating with a Kurdish opposition party of the Iranian government.”
https://kurdpa.net/en/news/detention-of-another-citizen-in-dehloran
2. Armed Kurdish group kills IRGC commander: KDPI
17 April 2021 | Rudaw
A commander from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed in an operation carried out by a Kurdish armed opposition group in Iran, a Kurdish party announced on Saturday.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/170420213
3. Iran grants amnesty to six Kurdish prisoners of conscience
16 April 2021 | KHRN
Iran has released six Kurdish prisoners of conscience after the announcement of a pardon by the judiciary amnesty commission. Prisoners Mostafa Sabzi, Akbar Rashidi, Aslan Shiri, Farshad Tamarzadeh, Rizgar Yousef Mavali, and Rahim Hassan Molaei were released in the evening of 15 April, under the amnesty.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/iran-grants-amnesty-to-six-kurdish-prisoners-of-conscience/
4. Kurdish politician files lawsuit against Iran’s Rouhani
15 April 2021 | Rudaw
A Kurdish former member of Iran’s parliament filed a lawsuit against President Hassan Rouhani this week, accusing him of failing to keep promises he made during the 2013 election campaign.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/150420211
5. Iranian Government Responsible to Protect Prisoners against Fourth Wave of COVID
14 April 2021 | CHRI
The start of a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran has increased concerns about the spread of the virus in the country’s overcrowded and unhygienic prisons and detention centers, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said in a statement today.
6. Omar Faqihpour, a Kurdish political prisoner, released after 21 years in prison
12 April 2021 | Hengaw
Omar Faqihpour from Bukan and Khaled Fereydoni from Mahabad were Peshmerga members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran who were ambushed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) forces in a village near Piranshahr on September 31, 2000.
7. Iran suspends human rights talks, cooperation with EU after IRGC chief sanctioned
12 April 2021 | Rudaw
Iran will be suspending human rights talks and cooperation with the European Union (EU) in several domains over the sanctioning of several Iranian security officials, according to the foreign ministry.
https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/120420213
8. Tehran says Natanz nuclear complex failure was a ‘terrorist act’
12 April 2021 | ANF News
Iranian authorities said that the Natanz nuclear facility was hit by “sabotage” on Sunday.
Ali Akbar Salehi from the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran did not say who was to blame for the “terrorist act”, which caused a power failure at the Natanz complex south of Tehran.
https://anfenglish.com/news/tehran-says-natanz-nuclear-complex-failure-was-a-terrorist-act-51280
9. The imprisonment sentences of two Kurdish citizens arrested during the mass arrest wave of Kurdish citizens in January 2021 extended for the 4th time
11 April 2021 | Hengaw
According to a report received by Hengaw Human Rights Organization, the imprisonment sentence of Farzad Samani and Sakar Eyni, has been extended for the 4th time and that they are still being held in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps intelligence detention center in Urmia.
10. Despite the talks … IAEA unveils a new violation of Iran
10 April 2021 | ANHA
A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on Friday, indicated a new Iranian violation of the nuclear deal that Tehran concluded with world powers, on the same day that those countries met to renew the agreement, which will likely increase tension with Western governments.
https://hawarnews.com/en/haber/despite-the-talks-iaea-unveils-a-new-violation-of-iran-h23968.html
11. Human Rights Defenders Saba Kordafshari and Raheleh Ahmadi Returned to Prison
10 April 2021 | IHR
According to Iran Human Rights, women’s rights activist Raheleh Ahmadi who had been on furlough since March 14, returned to Evin Prison today after authorities refused her request for an extension. At the same time, her daughter, Saba Kordafshari who was furloughed on April 3 on a bail of 2.2 billion Tomans returned to Qarchak Prison.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4694/
12. The imprisonment sentences of two Kurdish citizens arrested during the mass arrest wave of Kurdish citizens in January 2021 extended for the 4th time
05 April 2021 | KHRN
An Iranian military convoy carrying the heavy equipments of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have stationed near the village of Kani Hosseinbag of Sarvabad, bombarding the heights of Shaho Mountain located between the villages of Deyvaznav and Daleh Marz on 5 April, sources told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
13. Dramatic human rights situation in Rojhelat
03 April 2021 | ANF News
Iran continues to drive a hard line against the Kurdish part of the population. This is evidenced by data from the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), which presented a recent monthly report on the human rights situation in Rojhelat.
https://anfenglish.com/human-rights/dramatic-human-rights-situation-in-rojhilat-51095
14. Security forces detain four Kurdish civilians following Newroz celebrations in Iranian Kurdistan
30 March | KHRN
Iranian security forces have detained four Kurdish civilians in the city of Baneh and its Yaqubabad village, in western Kurdistan province, on 25 March. The detainess have been taken to an unknown location. Reportedly, civilians Parviz Qaderi, Hawzhin Qaderi, Rebwar Qaderi, and Behrouz Qaderi were detained following the Newroz (also Nowruz in Persian) celebrations in Yaqubabad.
15. Iran’s soft power assimilates Kurds
27 March 2021 | ANF News
The Iranian state shapes the characteristics of the Kurdish people in the region and uses a policy of “melting” by using its “soft” power.
https://anfenglish.com/culture/iran-s-soft-power-assimilates-kurds-50941
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Panorama: Escalation between Iran and Israel and difficult prospects facing Lebanon
18 April 2021 | ANHA
Reports said that the pro-Iranian forces continue to recruit Syrians through weapons of Shiism and money, while last week witnessed an escalation between Iran and Israel, while the political stalemate continues in Lebanon, amid warnings of difficult prospects.
2. Walking in a Minefield Without a Map: The Life of an Iranian Human Rights Lawyer
15 April 2021 | CHRI
Taking on human rights cases in Iran is like walking in a minefield without a map. As in “The Stream and the Stone,” a Persian story in the form of a poem by Malek-ol-Shoara Bahar that’s taught to school children, lawyers must learn how to find their way between rocks and stones, yet every year there is less water in the stream and the rocks are bigger and sharper.
https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2021/04/the-life-of-an-iranian-human-rights-lawyer/
3. Iran not backing down in Middle East, US intel report says
15 April 2021 | Al-Monitor
The Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign did not stop Tehran’s ambitions in the region, ODNI report suggests.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/04/iran-not-backing-down-middle-east-us-intel-report-says
REPORTS
1. Monthly report on the human rights situation in Kurdistan in March 2021
11 April 2021 | Rojhelat/KMMK
This is KMMK’s monthly report, March 2021, on the human rights situation in eastern Kurdistan. This report summarizes key human rights issues on events during January 2021, including executions, detentions, homicide, Police shootings and state terrorism and violence. Data is collected from several sources of KMMK, including direct reports.
http://rojhelat.info/en/?p=10397
2. From April 2020 to April 2021 at least 38 civilians killed and wounded in landmine explosions in Iranian Kurdistan
04 April 2021 | Hengaw
According to statistics recorded by Hengaw Human Rights Organization’s Statistics and Documentation Data Center, From April 2020 to April 2021, at least 38 civilians were killed and injured on the borders of Iranian Kurdistan by landmines and explosives left over from the 8-year Iran-Iraq war
3. Iranian Kurdistan in March: a prisoner executed, a civilian killed by police, three kolbars died, many civilians arrested, imprisoned
01 April 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 March 2021.
4. Annual Report on the Death Penalty- 2020
30 March 2021 | IHR
The 13th annual report on the death penalty by Iran Human Rights (IHR) and ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty) provides an assessment and analysis of the death penalty trends in 2020 in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
https://iranhr.net/en/reports/24/
EVENTS
1. Global Kurdish Film Festival from 16 to 27 April 2021
https://www.globalkurdishfilmfestival.com
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