MESOPOTAMIA NEWS THIS WEEKS REPORT ON IRAN/KURDISTAN – 16 Oct 2019
- Thousands of Iranian Kurds showed solidarity with Syrian Kurds on Saturday and Sunday by protesting Turkey’s continuing invasion of northeastern Syria and the numerous massacres and acts of ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Turkish forces and their jihadist allies. Iran’s Kurdish opposition parties issued a joint statement denouncing the Turkish invasion and protests were held in Tehran and twenty major cities in Iranian Kurdistan. On Monday, Iranian intelligence officers (Ettela’at) arrested more than 20 organizers of the protests, most of whom were from Marivan city, and accused them of “disruption of public order.”
- Islamic Revolutionary Court 102 sentenced a Kurdish activist named Arman Ghafoori to six months in prison for organizing a protest against the Turkish invasion of Afrin in March of 2018. Ghafoori was previously charged with “inciting public disorder.”
- The Iranian regime killed and injured a number of Kurdish border porters (Kolbars) last week. Last Tuesday, Iranian border guards attacked a group of Kolbars near Sardasht, killing a Kolbar named Azad Nahad and injuring another. Near Piranshahr, Iranian authorities ambushed a formation of Kolbars and severely wounded one. On Sunday, Iranian security forces killed two more Kolbars, Rahman Muradi and Sadiq Muradi, in the rural areas surrounding Piranshahr. Concurrently, a mine explosion led to a Kolbar having both legs amputated in the village of Pawa (Pehav). In the Hawraman region, Iranian authorities shot a businessman for his dealings with Kolbars. Poor living conditions in Iran continue to encourage Iranian Kurds to become Kolbars. The Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) even warned of a recent trend where women are taking jobs as Kolbars. The Iranian regime has killed 55 Kolbars and wounded at least 114 since the beginning of 2019.
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