Latest news with #KurdistanHumanRightsNetwork
Rudaw Net
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Eight Kurdish activists face anti-state charges in Iran: Watchdog
Also in Iran Seven killed in tragic gas poisoning incident at 'unregistered' mine in Iran Iran denies Trump's claims of 'direct' Tehran-Washington negotiations Zarif rejects claims of role in anticipated US-Iran nuclear talks Iran condemns US 'Free Iraq from Iran Act' as 'very offensive' A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Eight Kurdish activists appeared before a court on Tuesday on charges of 'propaganda against the state' in Iran's western Kurdish areas (Rojhelat), a human rights watchdog reported. 'Eight labour and civil rights activists appeared today before Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, facing charges of 'propaganda against the state' and 'disturbing public order and peace,'' the Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) said. The defendants are Susan Razani, Seyyed Khaled Hosseini, Jamal Asadi, Farshid Abdollahi, Eghbal Shabani, Fardin Miraki, Sheys Amani, and Arman Salimi, who were previously summoned to court on January 5 and were released on bail pending trial, according to the statement. 'The case centres on their participation in the funeral of a dadkhah mother [justice-seeking mother] in Sanandaj, which the authorities have cited as evidence for the charges brought against them,' KHRN said. One of the accused is Farshid Abdollahi, the father of Houman Abdollahi, who was killed during the nationwide antigovernment Jin Jiyan Azadi (Women Life Freedom) protests, which erupted in 2022 following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Zhina (Mahsa) Amini in police custody after she was detained for allegedly violating Iran's strict hijab rules. Tens of thousands of people are held as political prisoners in Iranian jails for charges including advocating for democracy and promoting women's or workers' rights. The country ranks second globally for known executions, and the number of death penalties it implements has risen dramatically in recent years. Tehran has been accused by human rights groups of using the death penalty to suppress minority groups, like Baluchis and Kurds, who were active in the 2022 protests. Tehran executed an estimated 909 prisoners in 2024, with Kurds making up 20 percent of the total, the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported in February.
Rudaw Net
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Kurdish, Azeri rights groups condemn ethnic unrest in Urmia
Also in Iran Iran FM slams US pressure in phone call with Iraqi counterpart President Barzani congratulates Iranian leaders on Kurdish, Persian new years Iran arrested 41 Kurds over Newroz celebrations: Watchdog Seven arrested in Iran's Kurdistan for 'anti-regime propaganda' during Newroz A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish and Azeri human rights groups on Tuesday condemned the tensions that flared between ethnic groups in Iran's West Azerbaijan province after anti-Kurdish slogans were chanted during a religious gathering. The joint statement, cited by the Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), decried that several participants hijacked a state-organized demonstration commemorating the martyrdom anniversary of the first Shiite Imam to inject their "religious and extreme nationalist sentiments." On Saturday, ethnic tensions rose after anti-Kurdish slogans were chanted at an Alawite religious gathering in West Azerbaijan's Urmia at a ceremony where Alawites were marking the martyrdom of Imam Ali (599-661 CE), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet of Islam Muhammad. "During the demonstration, which was held in the presence of government officials and supported by police forces, a significant number of participants" held "banners containing explicit anti-Kurdish messages and hate speech," according to the joint statement. "Some protesters, who openly declared their allegiance to Iran's Supreme Leader, threatened Kurdish civilians with massacre. Others carried images of Gholamreza Hassani, the former Friday prayer leader and representative of the Supreme Leader in Orumiyeh [Urmia], who was notorious for his anti-Kurdish stance and for advocating the killing of Kurds," the joint statement said. It vehemently condemned the actions as damaging and threatening to Urmia, a "multi-ethnic and multicultural city" that "belongs to all its residents, including Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, and other communities." "We call on all the people of Orumiyeh ... to take a firm stand against the Islamic Republic's provocations and the incitement of extremist violent factions, regardless of their political or ideological affiliations," it continued. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported on Monday that 22 individuals were arrested in connection with the events, citing West Azerbaijan police commander Rahim Jahanbakhsh as accusing them of "inciting ethnic strife and insulting ethnic groups." "The enemy's desperate plot to create division among the original ethnic groups of Iran in the province was neutralized through the identification and decisive action against the main visible and hidden perpetrators of this seditious move," Jahanbakhsh said. In another statement, Tasnim accused the neighboring Kurdistan Region and pan-Turkish elements of seeking to "disrupt the peaceful atmosphere" in West Azerbaijan province. "The actions of a number of known and separatist figures to raise the fake flag of the Kurdistan Region and the wearing of local clothes by several girls that were emblazoned with the symbol of this flag were immediately met with reprimands and countermeasures from those present and the organizers of the program, and the tricolor flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran were waved throughout the gathering, preventing further incidents," Tasnim stated. It further blamed the "zealous Kurds and authoritarian Turks" for the unrest, which it said "failed miserably due to the insight and awakening of the people." Social media footage from the ceremony showed the crowd chanting anti-Kurdish slogans, including: 'Urmia belongs to the Turkics and will remain Turkic … No Kurd can pass here if a Turkic doesn't allow it,' and 'Azerbaijan will never part from Khamenei," referring to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The crowd additionally chanted, 'Hasani, where are you to back and support the Turkics?' in reference to the controversial cleric Hassani, who until January 2014, served as Khamenei's representative in West Azerbaijan Province and the Friday Prayer Imam of Urmia. Hassani is believed to have stood behind a bloody 1979 massacre of Kurds in the village of Qarna in Naqadeh county, West Azerbaijan, which sparked deadly ethnic and armed conflicts in the country between Kurdish and Turkic residents. Urmia is the capital city of West Azerbaijan Province in northwestern Iran. It is known for its diverse ethnic and religious composition, and is home to Turkic-speaking residents who practice Shiite Islam, Kurdish residents who primarily adhere to Sunni Islam, as well as communities of Assyrians and Armenians, who are Christian. The controversial chants came after Urmia was recently scene to massive Kurdish New Year, Newroz festivities where an estimated 150,000 Kurds participated.
Voice of America
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
VOA Kurdish: Iran arrests 4 female Kurdish activists after Women's Day events
Iranian security forces have arrested four female Kurdish activists in Kurdistan province following International Women's Day celebrations on March 8. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network confirmed the arrests. Rights groups and activists believe these arrests are part of a wider crackdown on Kurdish women. Click here for the full story in Kurdish.
Rudaw Net
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iran detains Kurdish women after women's day gathering in Sanandaj: Watchdog
Also in Iran Kurdish clothing in high demand among Kurds in Iran Iranian FM calls US removal of Iraq waiver 'deplorable' Iran condemns US for rescinding Iraq gas waiver We will not negotiate under pressure: Iranian FM A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian intelligence forces arrested four women from Kurdistan province following their attendance at an International Women's Day event in Sanandaj days prior, a human rights watchdog reported on Monday. 'On Monday, March 10, 2025, agents of the intelligence ministry arrested Leila Pashaei in Saqqez and Sohaila Motaei in Dehgolan without presenting a judicial warrant,' the Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported on Monday, days after two female activists - Soma Mohammadrezaei and Baran Saeedi - were arrested in Sanandaj. On Friday, women and various labor and civil rights activists gathered in Sanandaj to commemorate International Women's Day and chanted slogans in support of women's rights and against executions and honor killings, KHRN reported. A joint statement was shared in the event by groups that participated in the event, condemning Iranian authorities for 'misogynistic' policies. "In Iran, the ruling authorities have consistently pursued misogynistic policies to deprive women of their fundamental rights. Repressive laws such as compulsory hijab, child marriage, the suppression of individual freedoms, and the violation of reproductive rights serve as tools for controlling women and legitimizing patriarchal dominance," the statement said, as cited by KHRN. Saeedi, Motaei, and Pashaei were detained during the Jin Jiyan Azadi (Women, Life, Freedom) protests in Iran sparked by the death of 22-year-old Zhina (Mahsa) Amini while in police custody in September 2022 after she was arrested for allegedly wearing a lax hijab. Her death sparked Iran's longest protest movement in the past four decades. The movement grew into an anti-government revolution as authorities responded with violence. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands arrested.
