Increased Number of Kurdish Individuals Detained in Shahin Dej in Relation to Newroz Celebrations

Hengaw: Saturday, May 11, 2024

The number of Kurdish individuals detained in Shahin Dej, West Azerbaijan (Urmia) Province, in connection with Nawroz celebrations has risen to seven with the recent arrest of three individuals in the village of "Quzluy Afshar."

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 6:00 AM, Ali Shiri, Salar Beigi, and Naser Moradi were apprehended by intelligence agency forces in the village of "Quzluy Afshar" in Shahin Dej (Sayin Qala).

Sources from Hengaw indicate that more than 50 armed forces, utilizing approximately 10 vehicles, surrounded Quzluy Afshar village early in the morning. They conducted house-to-house searches, chanting slogans such as "Death to America and Death to Israel," before violently arresting the aforementioned individuals and transferring them to an undisclosed location.

This follows the previous day's report by Hengaw regarding the arrest of four other Kurdish individuals from the village of "Haji-Abad Jaghtu" in Shahin Dej: Osman Abbasi, Heyman Alizadeh, Shahram Soltani, and Rahman Khosravi. These individuals were also apprehended by intelligence agency forces and subsequently transferred to the detention center in Urmia.

Family sources have disclosed that precise information regarding the situation and charges against the detainees remains unavailable.