Strikes, Detentions And Repressions In Iran’s Kurdistan

Tara Orami, citizen reporter, Saqqez

What is happening in Iran’s province of Kurdistan has both tragic and proud aspects: Kurdistan remains the flag bearer of the 70-day nationwide uprising against the Islamic Republic, despite a fierce crackdown by security forces in which at least 40 people have been killed in just five days.

The ongoing repression is different from the oppression that has been imposed on Kurdish people living in western Iran since the founding of the Islamic Republic 43 years ago.

Iran has been gripped by protests since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in the custody of Tehran’s morality police. More than 400 people have been killed in a heavy-handed crackdown by security forces. Thousands of people have also been arrested.

In the city of Saqqez, where Amini was born and lived, shops went on strike between November 15 and November 25, except for one day, creating financial difficulties for some residents, as this conversation between two marketers shows:

- “Hello, what do you think about today?

- What can I say, it seems the strike is ongoing.

- Obviously, and the pressure on us increases.

- We have no other choice but to join the strike. We cannot open our shops while everyone else is closed. My family asked me yesterday if I was again on strike, and I did not know what to say.

- Well, you had to say yes, you were on strike and if something changes because of our strikes, everyone will benefit from it.”

Another shopkeeper says: "All these years, there has been pressure on us, for instance the closing of the borders, the fall of the currency, sanctions, rent increases, etc. But in the current situation house and shop owners could help the strikers by reducing the rent."

A young man in the bazaar who runs a barber shop said many people used to call him for a haircut, but not anymore.

"I know people who used to come to my shop for a haircut every other day. If I was travelling and my shop was closed, they would immediately call to ask me to come back soon," he said.

"But over the past eight days, I’ve received only a few calls because everyone understands the situation."

As a result of the strike, banking activity has also dramatically decreased, according to the employee of a local bank.

"Many of our customers are marketers. Previously, a marketer used to deposit a specific amount of cash to his savings account every few days, but the number of such customers has significantly fallen in the past two months," he said.

"The activity of ATM machines has been reduced to only transferring money between accounts or paying bills."

The story does not end here. As the strike was going on, an eight-day protest was held in most cities across Kurdish cities. The repressive government has used the alleged threat of separatism as a justification for using full-scale violence against the protesters.

Various cities in the provinces of Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah and Ilam have been the scene of violent clashes, including Mahabad, Bukan, Piranshahr, Dehgolan, Sanandaj, Kamiyaran, Javanrood, Abdanan and Sarablah.

In Saqqez, two citizens were shot and killed by the security forces last week. And relatives of those arrested worry about their fates because they are likely to be harmed by interrogators.

A witness describes the brutality with which a family was arrested: "It was around 8 p.m. when the protesters lit fires in several places. Police knocked on the doors, but they didn't hear anyone answering, so they immediately started shooting at the windows on all three floors of the building. When the main door of the building opened, more than 10 officers rushed in and brought out everyone present by force and beat them."

One person recalls how he learnt about the arrest of his young brother.

"One evening, my brother left the house and we waited for him until late in the night. He didn't come home that night and didn’t answer calls. We called everyone we knew and who might be with him.”

"When we woke up in the morning we were stressed and continued our searches, without any results. By noon, the security agency called to say they had arrested him."

There are many such examples. A protester who is active on social media told IranWire: "I put my phone under my pillow at night because there is a possibility that [police] might come to me. Sometimes…I delete from my phone the pictures and video related to the protests. For my safety, I have even deactivated my [social media] accounts several times and reactivated them after a few days."