Iran

• The Iranian regime executed several people for non-political offenses last week. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported the regime has executed 25 Kurds in May so far and 72 in 2024. The regime also arrested several Kurds for political activities, including a female language teacher and a philanthropist in Bokan, two participants in Newroz celebrations in Miandoab, a former protester in Kermanshah, and two young Kurdish men in Pawa. At the same time, Iranian security forces summoned 20 former protesters in Awdanan and coerced them into signing pledges not to participate in further demonstrations. Meanwhile, Urmia’s Revolutionary Court sentenced a Kurdish man from Turkey to death for “rebellion.” A criminal court in Piranshahr handed four Kurds prison sentences ranging from two to ten years for “affiliation” with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). Lastly, Iranian border guards killed a Kurdish border porter (kolbar) near Piranshahr and another near Baneh. Iranian border guards wounded two more kolbars in a separate incident near Baneh on Sunday.

Iraq 

• Iraqi Kurdistan’s Christian and Turkmen parties filed a lawsuit demanding the reversal of the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq’s ruling that did away with the quota seats reserved for Christians and Turkmen in the Kurdistan Parliament. The parties claimed the ruling violates four articles of the Constitution of Iraq. Separately, President of Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani met with Iraqi leaders for the second time in three weeks to address ongoing disputes between Baghdad and Erbil after he returned from meeting with top Iranian officials in Tehran. Among other things, Barzani aims to reach a consensus with the Iraqi government on the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) share of the federal budget and Iraqi Kurdistan’s elections. “Both sides emphasized the need for continuous communication across all sectors to find sustainable solutions based on the principles outlined in the Constitution and the law,” read a statement from Barzani’s office after he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani. On a different note, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt met with officials in Baghdad and Erbil to discuss “resuming Iraq’s oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline (ITP).” The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) welcomed Pyatt’s visit and expressed a readiness to resume Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil exports if an agreement is reached between Baghdad and Erbil that “provides for payment surety for past and future exports and preservation of commercial and economic terms.” The APIKUR also stated Iraq has lost nearly 14 billion dollars since the halt of oil exports through Turkey in March 2023.

• On May 17, the Kurdistan Security Council (KSC) announced the arrest of a senior ISIS (Da’esh) leader named Socrates Khalil (AKA Abdullah al Tafkheikh) in Erbil. The KSC’s statement claimed Khalil worked very closely with the Da’esh caliph and had lived in Turkey for five years before Kurdish forces arrested him with a fake passport. Following his capture, Khalil discussed numerous details regarding the fall of Mosul and admitted to transferring five million dollars to the terrorist organization. 

Syria 

• The High Electoral Commission (HEC) of the Autonomous Administration for North and East of Syria (AANES) invited international governmental and non-governmental organizations to monitor the municipal elections held on June 11. The HEC also opened the doors for candidates’ registration, calling on the public for a large turnout. Separately, Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies intensely bombarded Afrin’s countryside for several days near the Shahba region. According to Kurdish outlets, a child was killed after suffering severe wounds. The AANES said the area that suffered heavy bombing by Turkey contains people forcibly displaced by Turkey and its Syrian proxies. “This escalation is the result of Erdogan’s insistence on practicing genocide and his goals of expanding his sphere of influence, occupation, and support for mercenaries and terrorists,” read a statement by the AANES. The recent development coincides with Da’esh escalating attacks in the Syrian Desert (Badia), killing three more soldiers last week. Dozens of Syrian soldiers have been killed by Da’esh in 2024. 

Turkey  

• An Ankara court issued lengthy sentences to dozens of Kurdish politicians charged in the Kobani case, including 85-year-old Ahmet Turk and two jailed former HDP leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yüksekdağ. Turk was sentenced to ten years in prison, Demirtas received a 42-year sentence, and Yüksekdağ was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. The other sentences ranged from two to ten years. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised the sentences amid an appeal from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party urging human rights organizations to “stand for human rights and fundamental democratic values and denounce these unlawful decisions.” The DEM Party also vowed to hold protests in Istanbul and across Turkey’s Kurdish region. That said, the Turkish government responded by announcing it was banning demonstrations and public events in 20 of the Kurdish region’s provinces. A U.S. Department of State spokesperson expressed concerns about the sentences to Rudaw on Monday and said the U.S. is supporting free speech and opposing “actions intended to encroach on the right of free speech.” In an interview after his conviction, Demirtas said the court verdict was made “years ago by the government” and that the court merely read the decision as a formality. Demirtaş notes that his ‘main goal’ is to achieve ‘a weaponless, non-violent solution’ for the Kurdish question in Turkey. However, he said that the Turkish state sees the Kurds’ work in ‘democratic politics’ as ‘more dangerous’ than them taking up arms.