Scores of Kurdish citizens are understood to have been arrested for taking part in Nowruz celebrations over the last week.
According to the Kurdish United Front, an umbrella organization representing ethnic Kurds in Iran, at least 30 people were detained in Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province, and at least 41 from the village of Ney, Marivan County.
The Kurdish human rights monitor Hengaw has also logged two arrests in Piranshahr in connection with the New Year festivities. Sasan Padash, an artist, and Ahmad Rasouli were said to have attended a party in the village of Qalateh Rash. Both have since been transferred to an unknown location.
Radio Farda reports that in the run-up to the start of the Iranian calendar year 1401, some of Kurdistan province’s districts and governorates issued notices instructing people not to take part in Nowruz celebrations, display the flag or emblems of Kurdistan, dance in mixed-sex groups or give out spring flowers.
Mohsen Razavi, a member of the United Front’s executive council, said there was every sign that Kurdistan had again been singled out for restrictions. “People were asked not to be active on Nowruz. But in the city of Ilam, they were told they could hold Nowruz ceremonies, on the condition that men and women were separated.”
Of the 30 people arrested in Sanandaj, he said, 19 remained in detention on Monday. They included a 14-year-old girl and a 75-year-old woman who had worn the traditional Jamaneh scarves.
Source » trackpersia