The Hengaw delegation meets with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee

Hengaw: January 25, 2023

Shler Bapiri, Kaveh Hassanpour, and Osman Kokbishad, representatives from the Hammerfest City Council and the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, met with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee on January 23, 2023.

The meeting was attended by Gunnar M. Ekeløve-Slydal, the Deputy Secretary General; Dag A. Fedøy, the Director of Communications; and Ana Pashalishvili, the senior adviser at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.

Mr. Kokbishad, a member of the Hammerfest City Council, opened this discussion with a general and brief summary of Iran's human rights status, the situation of ethnicities and minorities, and the Islamic Republic's oppression of people, particularly the Kurds.

The Hengaw Organization's activities were then discussed by Shler Bapiri, a member of the board of directors. "Hengaw reflects the violations of human rights committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran's government at the level of the international community and gathers and records the necessary documents and evidence of the abuses of human rights in Kurdistan," Shler Bapiri stated.

Bapiri further pointed out the use of military weapons by the government forces against the protestors in the "Jina" uprising and provided documentation on this matter.

In addition, Kaveh Hassanpour, another member of the board of directors of Hengaw, specifically discussed the annual report of this organization on the human rights status in 2022 in Kurdistan, Iran.

Ana Pashalishvili also emphasized that Hengaw plays a decisive role in reflecting the course of events, particularly in the case of children and detainees from the recent uprisings, while pointing to the positive aspects of the organization's reporting on events relating to human rights in Iran and Kurdistan.

In the meeting's conclusion, the organizations made a point of highlighting the continuation of their relationships while also deciding to work more closely together to raise awareness of the human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan in global forums and among other human rights organizations in Europe.