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A weekly brief of events that occurred in the Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- A number of arrests and charges against Kurds took place last week in Sanandaj city. The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj sentenced a prominent Kurdish labor activist Khaled Husseini to three years in prison. Husseini was charged with “propaganda to hold General Strikes” and for holding protests against the execution of three Kurdish activists. According to the Kurdistan Association for Human Rights (KMMK), Husseini was banned from representing himself during the court session. On Saturday another Kurdish labor activist Zanyar Dabaghi was sentenced to one year in prison for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” On Tuesday, March 5, the intelligence officers (Etelaat) arrested two Kurdish environmental activists, Jamal Assadi and Armin Esparlos. On Saturday, another Kurdish man, Majeed Awar was arrested for unknown charges by the intelligence officers in Sanandaj. In Urmia, the Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced a Kurdish man, Farshad Abbasi to five years in prison for “membership of a Kurdish opposition party.”
- On Friday, a border porter, known as Kolbars, was injured by Iranian guards near Piranshahr. In Pawa two Kolbars were arrested by the Iranian border guards and were taken into custody. According to Hengaw human rights group, the Kolbars were beaten by the Iranian guard after their arrest.
- The most recent global report for Social Institution and Gender Index by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranked Iran as one of the worst places in the world for gender equality. Iran’s “restricted civil liberties” for women was as high as 75.1%. The report also sheds light on “discrimination in the family” against women, which puts Iran at 89%.
Iraq
- On Friday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) declared the end of the salary reduction of Kurdistan employees: an austerity measure was taken at the beginning of 2016 due to the financial crises in the region. In a press conference, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani thanked the public sector employees for their continuous work. Barzani also thanked the Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi for his “understanding.” Later the Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani announced that the KRG must repay the reduced amount of the salaries. The announcement came after Baghdad’s release of 512 billion IQ Dinar to the KRG as part of their allocated budget for employees. In 2014 the federal government stopped sending Kurdistan’s budget amid political disputes with the Kurds.
- On Sunday the leaders of the Kurdistan Parliament faction held a meeting and agreed on the share of the parliamentary committees. Thus far only the legal affairs committee has been formed and 14 more are to be formed in the upcoming parliamentary sessions. On the formation of the government, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan met again on Tuesday to discuss the share of the PUK in the new KRG. Meanwhile, the PUK did not participate in the parliamentary session on Tuesday as they demanded postponement until finalizing the KRG positions with the KDP.
- On March 9, the Kurds in Kurdistan and Iraq celebrated the National Kurdish Clothing Day. In Kirkuk, thousands of people wore Kurdish clothing despite security restrictions by the Iraqi forces in charge of the province.
- On March 6, the Turkish warplanes bombarded several locations in the northern Kurdistan region targeting positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Turkish military presence in Iraqi Kurdistan is as deep as 30 kilometers across the border, as they mobilized troops to fight the PKK last year.
Syria
- On Monday, the U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) resumed the liberation of the remaining areas under ISIS control in Baguz town after the time limit for ISIS terrorists to surrender ended. In a statement on Monday, the SDF announced that the fight resumed after dozens of ISIS terrorists surrendered with their families, while some terrorists still refused to give up weapons and continued fighting. The SDF also announced that from March 4 until Monday, March 11, about 4,000 terrorists surrendered, in addition to evacuating thousands of their families. On Tuesday morning, the SDF entered Baguz and clashes intensified. The SDF discovered huge tunnels used by ISIS terrorists that included armories. On the U.S. presence in Syria, John Bolton the White House national security adviser told ABC he is optimistic that the United Kingdom and France will remain with the U.S. troops in Syria.
Turkey
- The Turkish authorities launched more raids and detained a number of Kurdish activists and members of parties last week. On Wednesday in Kiziltepe district of Mardin city, the Turkish police detained 7 Kurds who age between 12-16 years old. The police accused the youth of chanting certain Kurdish slogans that are banned in Turkey. The arrests came after the Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) opened a new election office in the district in preparation for the local elections on March 31. On the same day in Agri province, the Turkish police detained a senior Kurdish HDP member Zelal Yerlikaya for her social media posts. The Turkish government accused her of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization.” On Friday, the Turkish police launched a number of raids on houses of Kurdish activists in Cizre district, Sirnak province. As a result, 9 people were detained including two senior members of the HDP and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP). In Varto district of Mus province, nine people were arrested by the police after raiding their homes. Meanwhile, the hunger strikes continued by the Kurdish activists and lawmakers to end the isolation of the jailed Kurdish leader, Abdullah Ocalan and other political prisoners. During a raid on an HDP building holding hunger strikes in Diyarbakir (Amed) 7 were arrested and the building was damaged by the police. The HDP and other Kurdish parties denounced the Turkish police aggression against peaceful hunger strikes. In Van province, 148 political prisoners joined the hunger strikes while 30 more people did the same across Europe.
- On Friday, the Brussels Court of Appeals ruled out the PKK as a terrorist organization. The ruling came after Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor filed a case against a number of Kurdish politicians and companies residing in Belgium to try them in court. The appeals court explained that the issue is “Turkey’s domestic dispute.” In September 2017 the same court issued a similar ruling describing the PKK as a party in the civil war in Turkey.” Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor has a third and final appeal to make for the case.