Kurdish Kolbar Dies after Sustaining Multiple Rifle Butt Strikes to His Head by Iranian Border Guards

Hengaw; Tuesday, October 8, 2024

A kolbar from Piranshahr, identified as Hossein Kamalnia, was killed as a result of severe beatings and multiple strikes to his head with the butt of a Kalashnikov rifle by Iranian border guards while working in the border mountains of Piranshahr (Delavan border area). Another kolbar, Fardin Ghalash, was also severely injured after being shot directly by these forces.

According to a report received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on the afternoon of Monday, October 7, 2024, Hossein Kamalnia, a 38-year-old kolbar, was first wounded in the leg by direct gunfire from border guards and then brutally beaten by one of the border officers. He sustained severe head injuries due to repeated strikes from the rifle butt. After being transferred to the hospital, he died hours later due to heavy blood loss.

Hengaw has learned that Hossein Kamalnia, a resident of the village of Andizeh, was the sole breadwinner of his family and financially supported his elderly mother, who suffers from diabetes and has lost her eyesight.

At the same time, another kolbar, identified as Fardin Qelash, was severely injured by direct gunfire from the border guards and has been transferred to medical facilities in Urmia.