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Iran
- Last week, the Iranian regime intensified its crackdown on activists in the Kurdish regions of the country. In Kermanshah Province, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, regime police detained activists from two different districts, charging them with allegedly “supporting Kurdish parties.” In Sardasht, West Azerbaijan, an Iranian court sentenced a Kurdish man to ten years in prison for “supporting Kurdish parties.” Meanwhile, in Orumiyeh, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network confirmed that the Iranian government had sentenced two Kurdish activists to 18 months in prison for “propaganda against the Islamic regime.” Both of the activists, Hamed Sepehri and Jafar Amini, were sentenced by Iran’s “Revolutionary Court,” which handles political cases. Another imprisoned Kurdish man, Ramin Pananhi, who has been sentenced to death by the Iranian government, recently had his case transferred to the constitutional court. His case has received a large amount of international criticism from human rights groups. Panahi’s mother recently called on the European Union to address her son’s case and speak to Iranian officials about the case during upcoming talks between the EU and Iran over the future of the Iran nuclear deal.
Iraq
- After the official election results were announced, two senior delegations from the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) separately visited Baghdad to hold talks with the winning blocks and parties. The KDP and PUK met with Muqtada al Sadr’s Sairoon Alliance, Hadi al Ameri’s Fatah Alliance, current Prime Minister Haider al Abadi’s Watania List, and Nouri al Maliki’s State of Law (Dawlat al Qanoon) Party. During these meetings, the formation of the upcoming cabinet was discussed. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Parliament held a special session to discuss the electoral process amid accusations against some political parties of “fraud” and “hacking.” During this special session, the Parliament decided to void the results of ballots from IDP camps from four Sunni-majority provinces, as well as the results from ballots from outside of Iraq. In addition, the Parliament voted to manually recount 10 percent of the ballots as samples, pending a manual recount for all ballots in Iraq. If the inaccuracy of these initial ballots passes 25 percent, a total recount for all ballots will occur. Prior to this session, the Electoral Commission denied the fraud and hacking allegations. Meanwhile, the Sadr list warned against attempts to change the election results, adding that Parliament did not have the authority to take action on annulling the election results. Four opposition Kurdish political parties, alongside some Shia and Sunni parties, rejected the results, invoking charges of fraud and hacking. The Change Movement (Gorran) threatened to boycott the political process if no action is taken by the Electoral Commission to address these allegations. On May 26, the Federal Court of Iraq advised the commission to look into the complaints.
- As a part of the 2019 United States fiscal year budget, under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces would receive $290 million from the Pentagon in aid for training and equipment. This budget now awaits approval from the U.S. Senate.
- A 17-year-old Yazidi girl has died and three other Yazidis are seriously injured after a fire ignited in their tent in an Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in Duhok. The camp did not possess a fire truck to put out the fire nor an ambulance to treat the victims and immediately take them to a hospital.
Syria
- In a recent statement, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, announced that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be meeting with Turkey’s Foreign Minister on June 4. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the future of Manbij. In the U.S. statement, the embassy also announced the formation of a “road map” between the U.S. and Turkey over the future of Manbij, formed by a Turkish-U.S. working group held on May 25. Turkey has threatened U.S. forces and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) in Manbij on many occasions. Currently, U.S. forces remain in Manbij in conjunction with factions of the SDF, notably the Manbij Military Council. The SDF continues to build up security personnel in the region by recruiting locals from the city.
- In Afrin, Islamist militias from the Free Syrian Army, and backed by Turkey, continue to prevent Kurdish displaced people from returning to the area. Some of these jihadi groups have been ransoming the return of villages and farms to Kurdish families for as high as $500, according to Kurdish witnesses. Kurds from across the globe continue to resist and protest against the occupation of Afrin by these Islamist groups and Turkish forces, with thousands of people from the Kurdish diaspora in Europe recently protesting on May 26 for a “Global Action Day Against Turkish Occupation of Kurdistan” and calling on the peaceful return of Kurdish citizens to their homes in Afrin.
- SDF forces continued its “Tempest of Al Jazeera” military operation against the last pockets of ISIS-held territory east of the Euphrates. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) announced the death of three of its fighters during this operation, in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor on May 19.
Turkey
- The Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) continued its campaign and election rallies across the country, despite persistent government raids and arrests against its members and leadership. After requests from the Turkish ruling party, the Supreme Board of Elections (YSK) decided to consolidate the voting stations in 19 mainly-Kurdish, HDP-stronghold provinces. The YSK decision will result in the decrease in hundreds of polling stations in Kurdish areas, making it harder for many Kurds in Turkey to vote in the upcoming election. Many Kurdish citizens will have to travel long distances in order to vote. HDP Co-Chair Sezai Temelli criticized the YSK decision, saying that “the YSK should have awaited the decision of the Constitutional Court.” In addition, Turkish police detained five HDP and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) members in Kocaeli Province over their social media posts. The Turkish government rejected a request for the current HDP Co-Chairs to visit Selahattin Demirtas, the jailed HDP Presidential candidate and former HDP Co-Chair. Demirtas continues to campaign from prison, despite the constitutional court’s refusal to let him leave jail for the election season.
- A Turkish court sentenced Adris Baluken, an HDP lawmaker from Diyarbakir, to 16 years and eight months in prison for “membership in a terrorist organization.” Similar charges have been made against dozens of other HDP lawmakers, resulting in their imprisonment and removal from Parliament. Baluken was arrested on November 4, 2016 and released on January 30, 2017 before being arrested again on February 17, 2017.