KHRP Concerned at Reports of Post-Election Repression in Kurdish Regions of Iran |
KHRP today expressed concern at reports that the human rights violations witnessed amid mass protests in Tehran since the disputed Iranian presidential elections earlier this month have been mirrored by similar abuses in the Kurdish regions of the country.
Although there have been fewer large-scale demonstrations in the Kurdish regions compared with the capital, the authorities nonetheless appear to be clamping down on dissent there with even more vigour than usual. At least one young man from Kermanshah is reported to have been killed by armed government agents during a demonstration on 15 June, and at least two people are alleged to have been shot in Marivan. Protestors are also reported to have been arrested in Orumiye.
‘Unfortunately, the world only knows about a tiny a fraction of the daily abuses committed by the Iranian government,’ said KHRP Deputy Director Rachel Bernu. ‘We have all just learned over the weekend of the threats made against Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi for her human rights work. Imagine what it is like for those who work towards the promotion of human rights in Iran without even the limited protection afforded by a Nobel Prize.’
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