I never knew that the Kurds were also given a bad time in Iran.
Iran’s Kurds rise up as their leaders remain divided
Spring has arrived in Qandil, the majestic mountain range separating Iran from Iraq. But the bucolic calm enveloping this far-flung corner of the Middle East could be shattered at any time. Iranian fighter jets periodically rain bombs on rebels of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) based in Qandil. The group is the latest in a string of Kurdish groups that has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule inside Iran.
Iran’s long-repressed Kurds, including many alleged PJAK members, continue to be jailed and tortured. A growing number have been executed in recent years. But while the Kurds in Turkey, Syria and Iraq make international headlines with their successful campaign against the Islamic State (IS), the plight of their Iranian brethren has gone largely unnoticed.
That was until last week, when hundreds of Iranian Kurds took to the streets in the city of Mahabad to protest the mysterious death of a Kurdish chambermaid. On May 7, Farinaz Khosravani fell from the window of the fourth floor of the Tara Hotel. Protesters allege that the 25-year-old jumped to avoid being raped by an Iranian security official. As news of her death spread, angry locals clashed with police and set the hotel on fire. Details remain sketchy because the international media is rarely granted access to the Kurdish parts of Iran. Iranian authorities have denied that an intelligence official was involved and have arrested an individual in the case who they claimed was a private consultant of the hotel.
Read more: Iran s Kurds rise up as their leaders remain divided - Al-Monitor the Pulse of the Middle East
Iran’s Kurds rise up as their leaders remain divided
Spring has arrived in Qandil, the majestic mountain range separating Iran from Iraq. But the bucolic calm enveloping this far-flung corner of the Middle East could be shattered at any time. Iranian fighter jets periodically rain bombs on rebels of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) based in Qandil. The group is the latest in a string of Kurdish groups that has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule inside Iran.
Iran’s long-repressed Kurds, including many alleged PJAK members, continue to be jailed and tortured. A growing number have been executed in recent years. But while the Kurds in Turkey, Syria and Iraq make international headlines with their successful campaign against the Islamic State (IS), the plight of their Iranian brethren has gone largely unnoticed.
That was until last week, when hundreds of Iranian Kurds took to the streets in the city of Mahabad to protest the mysterious death of a Kurdish chambermaid. On May 7, Farinaz Khosravani fell from the window of the fourth floor of the Tara Hotel. Protesters allege that the 25-year-old jumped to avoid being raped by an Iranian security official. As news of her death spread, angry locals clashed with police and set the hotel on fire. Details remain sketchy because the international media is rarely granted access to the Kurdish parts of Iran. Iranian authorities have denied that an intelligence official was involved and have arrested an individual in the case who they claimed was a private consultant of the hotel.
Read more: Iran s Kurds rise up as their leaders remain divided - Al-Monitor the Pulse of the Middle East
