Iran
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According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, six Kurdish civilians were sentenced to death by the Iranian regime due to their membership in a Kurdish party. The Iranian regime accused the Kurdish civilians of being Peshmerga members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDP-I). Yet, according to Human Rights Watch, these individuals have no affiliation with any armed groups. The citizens are: Rassoul Azizi, Mohamad Zaher Faramarz, Yaghoub Baakram and two brothers, Jalal and Kamal Masrouri. They were arrested on June, 19 2016.
Iraq
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The chairman of the Iraqi National Alliance Ammar Al-Hakim visited the Kurdistan region of Iraq and held meetings with Kurdish officials. During his visit, Al- Hakim met with Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region, to discuss the disputes between Arbil and Baghdad. The Shia clerk is sponsoring a political project named “settlement” to create committees between Baghdad and Arbil to solve the outstanding issues. Al-Hakim also held meetings with other Kurdish parties.
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As a part of the reforms to the civil service employee salary system, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is implementing a bio-metric system to improve and modernize the current system. The new system is being put into place to try and prevent corruption, specifically the double-payments that were being given to political party loyalists. The new payment system will be applied to payments for Peshmerga forces and police as well.
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The Asayesh forces (Public Security) in Kirkuk detained a secret cell of terrorists in the city. The group was involved in several terror attacks on the villages surrounding the city. Recently an IED exploded on a bus killing off-duty police guarding the oil field northwest of Kirkuk.
Syria
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After receiving a new round of military supplies from the U.S.-led coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched the third phase of the liberation operation to take Raqqa from ISIS. During the announcement, the SDF Telal Silo spokesperson said that 4000 Arab fighters from Raqqa and its rural areas had joined operation of “Wrath of Euphrates.” A SDF female commander, Rojeda Filat, said the plan will involve besieging the city of Raqqa and cutting the ISIS supply lines. The third phase of the operation started February 4. On Monday the SDF announced the liberation of Bir Saied village after “intense clashes.”
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Armed groups backed by the military shelled Shera district in Afrin northwest of Aleppo. The District is controlled by the Kurdish forces. According to media reports, the bombardments of rockets and mortars were launched from Azaz where Turkey-backed groups are stationed. Unconfirmed reports also mentioned that clashes broke out between the U.S.-backed SDF and the Turkish-backed groups in Tel Rifat.
Turkey
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The Mardin City Court of the Criminal Jurisdiction Division released Ahmad Turk, a veteran Kurdish politician, and the Co-mayor of Mardin city who was arrested in November of 2016. Earlier Turk’s lawyers filed a release request, citing issues with his health. Turk is banned from traveling and is awaiting trial. While he was jailed, Turk’s health deteriorated to dangerous levels twice times, with heart-related issues.
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The Co-mayor of Gokchebag town in Siirt District was arrested by the Turkish police. The police also detained the Co-mayor’s brother during the raid on the co-mayor’s home. In Van city, the police detained the Democratic Regions’ Party (DBP) Van provincial co-chair Sevinch Sheker. The People’s Democratic Party (HDP) deputy said: “some nine thousands of our members have been detained and two thousand five hundred of them have been arrested.”
- Selahattin Demirtash, the jailed Co-chair of the HDP, and Abdullah Zeydan, an HDP deputy, sent a letter to members of the party of Yuksekova. In the letter, both HDP officials criticize the state of emergency that was declared by the government. “Coming together more and supporting each other is a duty for every one of us in a period when human rights are trampled in new ways every day in the state of emergency. The right to life is disregarded, the law is reduced to a mere word and injustice becomes ordinary,” the HDP officials said.