Five children were searching for mushrooms in Bestansur village in Arbat subdistrict when they found some coins believed to date back to centuries ago. Rudaw has learned that nearly 200 antique coins were found.
Hours after the news broke in the village, local security forces (Asayish) raided the houses of the children, arresting them and their fathers as well as the village’s chieftain (mukhtar) and two other individuals. The children were released soon but the others were kept in detention for over a week and face charges for unknown reasons.
Rudaw reached out to Asayish for comment, but they declined to speak on the matter.
Adil Karim is the brother of one of the boys who found the coins. He told Rudaw that his brother and four other children thought the coins were bottle tops when they first saw them. “After bringing them home, they showed them to our father. From the moment we realized they were antiquities, we did not dare to touch them.”
His father remained in custody for eight days after being detained during an overnight raid by Asayish.
The people of Bestansur are now waiting for the court’s decision and the outcome of the investigations.
Ahmed Aziz, the village cleric, told Rudaw that everyone has been released, while voicing dismay over the raid.
Sazgar Salah contributed to this article from Bestansur village, Sulaimani province.