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A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- The Iranian regime ignored signs the nation’s anti-government protests are abating and intensified its crackdown on Iranian Kurdistan. The regime arrested four Kurdish imams in Sanandaj (Sena) and Piranshahr for publicly supporting anti-government demonstrations. Iranian authorities also kidnapped a 14-year-old child named Komar Shabowie in Shinno and several civilians and activists in Sena, Mehabad, Kamyaran, Marivan, Tehran, and Saqqez. In Sardasht, Iranian security forces raided a home and wounded three Kurdish brothers, one of whom, Abduallh Hamza, remains in critical condition in an Urmia hospital. Iranian border guards killed another member of the Hamza family in November 2022. Meanwhile, a Jwanrow court sentenced a 60-year-old Kurdish imam named Saifullah Hussieni to 17 years in prison and 74 lashes on several charges related to supporting demonstrations. Likewise, Iranian courts issued a two-year prison sentence to a Kurdish singer named Mohammed Abbaszadeh, a sentence of three years and six months to activist Frishta Mansouri in Ilam, and a three-year sentence to activist Sroush Moini in Bokan. The regime also sentenced a journalist in Tehran named Nazila Maroufian to five years in prison. Concomitantly, Amnesty International called for the regime to halt the execution of three men who are currently on death row for participating in demonstrations. “The Iranian authorities must immediately quash the unjust convictions and death sentences of three young protesters who were subjected to gruesome torture including floggings, electric shocks, being hung upside down and death threats at gunpoint,” read an Amnesty International Statement. Finally, the U.S. charged three people with plotting to assassinate Iranian dissident journalist Masih Alinejad in New York City.
- An earthquake near the Kurdish city of Khoy killed at least three people and injured 816 on Saturday. The exiled Cooperation Center for Iranian Kurdistan’s Political Parties (CCIKP) criticized the Iranian government’s response to the earthquake and called for Kurds from other cities to provide aid to those affected. “Overseeing the previous agendas set by the government and state agencies of the Islamic Republic at such times have added salt to the wounds of the people with their negligence, inaction, and corruption. We call on the Kurdish people to fulfill their humanitarian and national responsibilities,” said the CCIKP.
Iraq
- On January 25, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court responded to a Shi’ite lawmaker’s lawsuit by ruling the previous Iraqi government’s decision to provide the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) with federal funds to pay its employees’ salaries was unconstitutional. The prior Iraqi government agreed to send 200 billion Iraqi dinars per month to the KRG to cover the salaries of public employees in Iraqi Kurdistan. The court’s ruling raised additional concerns at a time when the Iraqi government and KRG are engaged in ongoing talks to solve disputes regarding the sale of oil and gas from Iraqi Kurdistan. “This illegitimate decision was made while both the KRG and the Federal Government reached a mutual understanding and an agreement to resolve pending issues in a positive atmosphere,” said KRG spokesperson Jutiar Adel. Concurrently, several Kurdish politicians claimed Iranian-backed militias influenced the court’s decision.
- On January 28, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) delegation met with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Sulaymaniyah for the first time in months to discuss several ongoing disputes between the two sides. A joint KDP-PUK statement claimed the two parties discussed “the general situation, local, and regional equations” and suggested they would meet again soon. The U.S. Consulate General Erbil expressed support for the KDP-PUK talks and tweeted, “A house united shall always prosper.” Several senior US officials visited the region ten days ago to discuss regional issues and encourage Kurdish unity.
- Kurdish public security forces (Asayesh) arrested seven ISIS (Da’esh) terrorists, including three senior leaders, in Chahchamal and Bazian. The Asayesh said the terrorists were wanted by Iraqi authorities and fled to the Kurdistan Region from central and southern Iraq.
Syria
- On January 25, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a military operation targeting Da’esh cells in Raqqa and several surrounding towns, including those responsible for a December 26 suicide attack that killed six SDF personnel. While Operation Retaliation for Raqqa Martyrs remains ongoing, the SDF claimed it has resulted in the arrest of more than 70 terrorists, the seizure of a sizable sum of weapons and ammunition, and the elimination of several Da’esh cells so far. “The joint forces of the Revenge for the Martyrs of al Raqqa campaign, with air support from the International Coalition, arrested 68 ISIS mercenaries who were sheltering in residential areas and farms, including the Wali (governor) of Raqqa Province,” read an SDF statement.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies arrested at least ten Kurdish residents of occupied Afrin. Turkish proxies routinely detain civilians on false charges, most notably for assisting Afrin’s former Kurdish administration. Turkey’s Syrian allies have tortured dozens of detained civilians to death but have also released some in exchange for ransoms.
Turkey
- The Turkish opposition coalition known as “Table of Six” released its manifesto in preparation for the parliamentary elections. The document contains 2,300 pages covering dozens of issues but fails to mention the Kurdish question. The Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic (HDP) lawmaker Meral Danış Beştaş noted that the Turkish opposition needs to work “more seriously on the Kurdish issue.” The Turkish opposition will declare their presidential candidate in mid-February with no chance of winning without Kurdish voters, but the HDP remains excluded from the “Table of six.” The HDP will have its own presidential candidate, and the jailed Kurdish politician Sellahattin Demirt will not run since his legal status “was not suitable for candidacy” but will support any candidate the party nominates.
- The Turkish presidency has filed more motions to the parliament, requesting the lifting of immunity of several Kurdish and HDP parliamentarians. The targeted lawmakers include the HDP female leader Parvin Buldan. At the same time, the government’s pressure on the HDP is ongoing via the Kobani Case courting 108 Kurdish politicians and the closure case of the pro-Kurdish party. The HDP Co-leader Buldan addressed the government’s crackdown, calling President Erdogan’s candidacy “illegitimate.” The Turkish government has used several “anonymous witnesses” to pursue legal actions against the HDP and other Kurdish entities.