ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian security forces have detained at least 10 Kurds over the span of three days in the Kurdish region of Rojhelat in the west, a rights group reported on Sunday.
The Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization said that Masoud Alani Kohneh Qaleh, Amir Soleimani, and Zakaria Badsar were arrested by intelligence forces and agents on Saturday.
Hengaw had previously reported the arrests of three other Kurds - Rahman Khuzan, Omid Chawbaz, and Mohammad Hajizadeh - on Friday, as well as four others - Luqman Qorbani, Shwaneh Divazi, Hadi Azizi, and Sediq Karimi - on Thursday.
Kohneh Qaleh was previously arrested in Shno (Oshnavieh) for singing and performing Kurdish songs and anthem. Soleimani, 44, is the brother of a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), according to the watchdog.
Karimi had previously been sentenced to six months in prison by the Iranian judiciary for wearing “khaki Kurdish clothing” at a wedding ceremony in Piranshahr.
Most of the latest arrests took place around midnight.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) also reported the arrest of Qorbani, Hajizadeh, Chawbaz, Karimi, Azizi, Divazi, Soleimani and Badsar.
Iranian authorities have carried out a broad arrest campaign across the country in recent months, especially since the US and Israel launched an aerial campaign against the country in February, with rights groups reporting the detention of activists, journalists, political dissidents, and members of ethnic minority communities. Kurdish rights organizations have reported numerous arrests in Rojhelat, with many detainees accused of security-related offenses or activities deemed hostile to the state.
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