Kurdistan’s Weekly Brief September 13, 2022

A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

Iran 

• An Iranian court in Sanandaj sentenced a female Kurdish activist named Kazhal Nasri to five years in prison for membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). Moreover, a criminal court in Mehabad sentenced a female activist named Suda Khadirza to twelve years and six months in prison on charges of membership in the PDKI and killing an Iranian intelligence officer. Khadirza denied the charges. On a different note, Amnesty International called for Iranian authorities and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to disclose the fate of a missing Kurdish dissident named Edris Feqhi. Feqhi is a member of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) and was ambushed by Iranian authorities in July 2021. 
• Iranian authorities killed a Kurdish border porter (kolbar) named Rizgar Mohammedzadeh near Baneh last week. Two other kolbars, Zana Ismael and Shorsh Bashblagh, were injured in the same area on Thursday. A total of 16 kolbars have now been wounded in September. 
• A pro-regime man named Goran Qassimpour attempted to rape a woman named Shiler Rasoli after asking her for help. Rasoli jumped off a roof to escape Qassimpour and died from her injuries after spending five days in a local hospital. The incident sparked a  massive protest that demanded justice for Rasoli. Several Kurdish human rights organizations and political parties vowed Qassimpour would be brought to justice and accused him of being a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

Syria 

• After several hints by Turkish officials to normalize relations with the Syrian regime, a French intelligence outlet reported a meeting between Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s spy chief, and his Syrian counterpart Ali Mamlouk. Russia allegedly mediated the meeting as part of efforts to ease tensions between the two states since 2011. Thousands of Syrians in the Turkish-occupied areas protested any opening to the Syrian regime, but Turkish officials seemed determined. 
• The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and local security forces continued security operations inside al Hol camp against ISIS (Da’esh) sleeper cells for a third week in a row. On Thursday, a sleeper cell of seven terrorists opened fire on Internal Security Forces members, killing two. After clashes, the security forces killed one and arrested six who attempted to flee the camp. Moreover, the SDF freed two Yazidi women inside the camp who were abducted during the Yazidi Genocide in 2014. Additionally, four women were released from imprisonment by Da’esh terrorists inside the camp. Meanwhile, the Commander of United States Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, visited al Hol Camp, expressing his support for the security operations. General Kurilla warned that threats of the camp “represent a real threat to the region” and “a humanitarian catastrophe.” General Kurilla revealed that “approximately 56,000 residents – more than 90 percent of them women and children – living in tents,” warning that “ISIS seeks to exploit these horrific conditions. With approximately 80 births in the camp each month.” 

Turkey 

• A Turkish court in Antalya banned the “distribution and sales” of a book written by the jailed former co-leader of the Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Figen Yüksekdağ. The court said the book “Walls to Destroy'” has “propaganda” for a terrorist organization. Separately, the female jailed Kurdish politician Aysel Tuğluk was hospitalized on Friday after Covid symptoms. Tuğluk has been in a Turkish jail since 2016, suffering from dementia. 
• As debates heated among the opposition parties before the 2023 elections, Gürsel Tekin, a lawmaker of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), suggested a ministerial position for the HDP if the opposition alliance wins. In response, the leader of the far-right IYI party Meral Aksener, said: “We will not be at the table where the HDP is. There will be no HDP at the table where we are.” The HDP criticized Aksener’s remarks who recently also linked Syrian refugees to garbage. The jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtias reacted positively about Tekin’s proposal but also said his party aims to “change the system; we do not want the thief to change; we want the theft to end.” 
• Dozens of international lawyers worldwide filed a petition, demanding a visit to the imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. The petition has been submitted to Turkey’s Justice Ministry, which continues imposing a ban on family and lawyers’ visits to Ocalan in Imrali island.