MESOPOTAMIA NEWS WEEKLY REPORT KURDISTAN / IRAN – 2. April 2019

Last week Iranian intelligence officers (Ettelaat) arrested six Kurds from Marivan during raids that took place in the city and nearby villages. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) the Ettelaat officers did not have arrest warrants against the detainees. Last week, before the Newroz celebrations, the Iranian security forces were deployed largely in Marivan to prevent Kurdish gatherings and celebrations on the occasion of Newroz. On Saturday, also in Marivan, the city’s Islamic Court sentenced a 22-year old Kurdish man, Salman Afra, to five years in prison for “aiding” an opposition party. Since the beginning of 2019, 96 Kurds have been arrested by the Iranian regime.

After deadly flooding due to heavy rain for more than a week in the southeast of Iran, two Kurdish provinces also suffered several fatalities and property damages. The flooding hit both Kermanshah and Ilam leaving hundreds of people homeless, which resulted in the death of at least three. In Mehabad city, a Kurdish group named “Restoring the Nature of Mehabad” launched a campaign to collect aid for the victims of the floodings, however, the government-backed Red Crescent threatened the organization to stop their activities and prohibited any organization other than the Red Crescent from collecting aid. In the past several years, the Kurdish city of Kermanshah suffered several earthquakes with significant loss of life. The Kurds in Kermanshah accused the Iranian regime of discrimination policies in helping the province to recover from these devastating natural disasters.
Near Nowsud, the Iranian border guards ambushed a number of Kurdish border porters known as Kolbars. During the ambush one Kolbar was injured.

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