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IRAN - Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s Annual Report
April 5, 2024: April 5, 2024 - IRAN. Kurdistan Human Rights Network’s Annual Report
This report addresses the violations of the human rights of Kurdish civilians in Iran during the Iranian year 1402 (21 March 2023 – 19 March 2024). As in previous years, the rights of Kurdish people have continued to be violated due to their language, religions, culture, genders, sexual orientations, and class and political affiliations by the Islamic Republic’s discriminatory laws and repressive and violent crackdowns by its security, military, judicial, and executive institutions.
In various sections of this report, statistics regarding the killing and injury of kolbars, execution of death penalties, Kurdish political and religious prisoners at risk or sentenced to death, femicide, civilians’ deaths due to mine explosions and workplace incidents, the summoning and detention of Kurdish civilians and activists for political reasons, issuance of verdicts against Kurdish civilians and activists on political charges, freedom of religion and belief, and pressure on the families of the killed protesters have been compiled.
Despite the efforts of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) to inform and document numerous cases of human rights violations in Kurdistan, it is important to emphasise that the statistics and information presented in this report only include cases that have been confirmed and published by KHRN, or where news and information from other sources are used, KHRN has independently verified their authenticity. Nevertheless, we believe this report does not encompass all instances of violations against Kurdish individuals in Iran, and undoubtedly, many other cases exist where individuals and families have not been able to speak out due to various reasons, including pressure from security institutions, and have not been highlighted in the media or human rights organisations.
Arrests
In the past year, at least 650 Kurdish civilians and activists were arrested on political grounds by the security forces or judicial institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in different cities of Ilam, West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Tehran, East Azerbaijan, Khuzestan, Razavi Khorasan and Mazandaran provinces. The highest number of arrests took place in West Azerbaijan, followed by Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Ilam provinces.
While some of these individuals were temporarily released on bail after a period of detention, others remain in custody, and some have been transferred to prison to serve their sentences.
Issuance of Verdicts
In the past year, at least 170 Kurdish civilians and activists received verdicts from Revolutionary, Criminal, and Special Clerical courts in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Tehran, Hamadan, Mazandaran, Razavi Khorasan, East Azerbaijan, and Khuzestan. These verdicts included death penalty, imprisonment, suspension of prison sentences, flogging, exile, monetary fines, revocations of clerical status, bans on leaving the country, dismissals, and more. […]
Freedom of Religion
During this period, at least 16 Sunni Kurdish clerics and activists and six Yarsan Kurdish activists were summoned, detained, sentenced, or executed by security forces or judicial institutions in various cities. […]
Kolbars
In the past year, at least 39 Kurdish kolbars died in the border areas of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah provinces. Among them, 27 kolbars, including a child, were directly shot by the military forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and one person was shot by Iraqi border forces. Additionally, a kolbar was tortured to death by the military-security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who then threw his body down from the mountain.
Additionally, two kolbars were killed in car accidents during a chase by Iranian forces. There were also two deaths from falls, two from frostbite, two from drowning in border rivers, one from a heart attack and one from a road accident on kolbar routes.
During this period, at least 356 kolbars in the border regions of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah provinces suffered injuries and severe harm. Among them, 311 individuals, including 15 children, were shot by the military forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, eight were assaulted, six fell from heights during pursuits by these forces, and five were injured by the shooting of Iraqi border guards. Furthermore, 11 were injured in road accidents, nine fell from heights, and six were wounded due to landmine explosions along kolbar routes. […]
Executions
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported and confirmed the execution of death sentences for 121 Kurdish prisoners in various prisons across the country in the past year. Most of these individuals were charged with “premeditated murder”, “drug trafficking”, and “theft”. […]
Political and Religious Prisoners Sentenced to Death
Currently, at least seven Kurdish political prisoners and Sunni Kurdish religious prisoners, including Reza Rasaei, Mohammad Khezrnezhad, Yousef Ahmadi, Nayeb Askari, Khosrow Besharat, Anvar Khezri, and Kamran Sheikheh are facing imminent and definite execution in Orumiyeh, Karaj’s Ghezel Hesar, Sanandaj, and Kermanshah prisons. These individuals have been charged with “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz), “armed insurrection” (baghi) and “enmity against God” (moharebeh) through membership in opposition Kurdish parties or Sunni religious groups, as well as “involvement in intentional murder”. […]
Killing of Civilians
During this period, at least 14 Kurdish civilians, Armita Geravand, Behzad Azizi, Azad Rezaei, Azad Sattar-Panah, Eynollah Ghadernezhad, Qazi Mustafa Ali, Sirous Shokri, Ali Nazari, Rahman Shams, Mohammad Mehrdadi, Hamed Bagheri, Vahed Ghaderi, Kaveh Goyli and Kavan Amjadnia were killed by the police, Revolutionary Guards, and morality police forces in the provinces of Kermanshah, Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, Tehran, and Alborz. […]
Extrajudicial Killings
In the past year, three members of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and a member of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan were assassinated in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. […]
Worker Deaths during Work
In the past year, at least 41 Kurdish workers, including two children, lost their lives in work-related accidents. […]
Femicide
In the past year, at least 31 cases of femicide have been reported in Kurdistan, with 13 cases in West Azerbaijan Province, 13 cases in Kermanshah Province, two cases in Kurdistan Province, and three cases in Ilam Province.
Four of these women were minors and at least three of them were victims of child marriage.
The motives for these murders, mostly committed by male family members, include “family disputes”, “having extramarital relationships”, “requesting divorce”, “opposition to the husband’s remarriage”, “opposition to the woman’s remarriage after divorce”, and motives referred to as “honour killing”. […]
Explosion of Landmines and War Munitions
During this period, at least two people were killed as a result of landmine explosions in Kermanshah Province and a civilian from Baneh was killed due to a landmine explosion in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Additionally, at least twelve individuals, including two children, were injured or suffered amputations due to mine explosions in the provinces of Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan.
Some of these landmines and war munitions date back to the Iran-Iraq War and the Islamic Republic’s military attack on Kurdistan in the 80s. The remaining explosives were deployed during recent military operations by the Islamic Republic of Iran to counter the presence of Kurdish opposition party members in the region. […]
Asylum Seekers
In the past year, two Kurdish asylum seekers, Hemin Shamamizadeh from Sardasht and Esmaeil Darabi from Sarpol-e Zahab, died of frostbite while trying to reach the European Union in the forests on the border between Belarus and Poland on 20 May 2023 and 7 November 2023 respectively.
Similarly, Nima Shahsavari and Hiwa Mostafaei, two Kurdish asylum-seekers from the village of Khaneqah in Paveh, disappeared on 24 December 2023 when their boat capsized while crossing the English Channel from France to England. To date, no information has been found about their fate.
Additionally, Sohrab Rahmati, a lawyer and member of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Bar Association, who was handling several cases related to extrajudicial killings of opponents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was subjected to an armed attack by Iranian forces in the city of Erbil on 16 November 2023 and was wounded.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/news/2024/04/05/kurdistan-human-rights-networks-annual-report/ (Source: KHRN)
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