Iran executions of Kurds is the way of silencing political opposition

In its recent report regarding the situation in Iran, Amnesty International confirmed that "two Kurdish men were executed in Urumieh prison on 13 July 2020". Since 2015, Saber Sheikh Abdullah and Diaku Rasoulzadeh were convicted and sentenced to penalty death, despite their evidence of innocence. Simultaneously with that, five Kurdish prisoners and two of Iran's Ahwazi Arab were convicted to death sentences by Iranian judicial officials, in connection to the last anti-Iranian regime protests in November 2019.

While Amnesty International repeatedly is calling the United Nations and the international community to intervene to stop the Iranian regime's crimes, Wilayat Al-Faqeeh's regime in Iran is continues his execution of the political opposition under the civilised world's silent. This systematic execution's policy by the Iranian regime is considered as a way of silencing the anti-regime opposition across the country and it has been used as a weapon of repression. In order to frighten the Kurds, the Iranian regime is carrying out mass executions of Kurdish prisoners in the centre of the Kurdish cities. The dead body must remain hanging, by authority's order, for a week just as a way of spreading terror among the people.

Furthermore, The Islamic Republic of Iran is considered among the world's highest number of executions after China, according to the United Nations officials. For example, only in 2019, the Iranian regime has committed 253 reported executions of adults and children and 23% of the victims were Kurds, and half of the total number of political prisoners in Iran are also Kurds.

Besides the Persian, the Islamic Republic of Iran is multi-nation and ethnic minorities country that including Kurds, Arab Ahwazis, Azerbaijani Turks, Baluchis, Turkmen and Armenian. However, all those nations are suffering from denial of their human rights, discrimination, marginalization and Persian is the only official language in the country. For instance, on July 14, 2020, Zara Muhammadi a Kurdish teacher was sentenced to ten years in prison and she was punished for the so-called "national security offenses" just because she effort to teach Kurdish children their mother's language. Controversially, the Iranian judicial system has dealt with Zara's case as a crime.

Since so-called Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979 led by Ayatollah Khomeini, in theory, Iran's Constitution provides for equality of all Iranian nations and ethnic minorities. In contrast, this was not the reality in practice. Iranian authority continues its policies of Inequality, discrimination, and the various forms of violence and repression towards the Kurds and other minorities. The Kurdish population in Iran estimated about 12 million (between 15-17%) of the total 82 million Iranian population and they feel excluded and disenfranchised from Iran's political system. The Kurds also have a lack of trust and confidence in the central government and do not exhibit any connection with Iranian identity.

Besides the above policies, the Iranian Wilayat al-faqih regime has committed serial assassinations crimes against Kurdish political leaders. This considered one of the main Iranian policies dealing with the different political opposition in the diaspora and outside of Iran. For example, despite the Kurds were seeking negotiation with the Iranian regime as a peaceful way of the political solution, on July 13, 1989, a Kurdish charismatic leader Abdulrahman Qassemlou was assassinated by agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Vienna, Austria. and later in September 17, 1992, the Iranian agents assassinated his successor Sadegh Sharafkandi in Berlin. Iranian agent, last month, has attempted to assassinate another Kurdish political activist in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden, Netherland. Sadegh Zarza, who is a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), and he is a nephew of the previous Kurdish Party's leader A. Qasemmlou, was repeatedly stabbed by Iranian agent in June 2020.

On the other hand, for the western countries and the US, the Iranian regime has been identified as a depot and an essential source of terrorism and as an "enemy" that threatens peace and stability in several areas across the world. In fact, there are no real actions against Iranian threats that should be taken by the United States and other European countries, and unfortunately, that is why the world will continue to expect more and more intervention and threats from the Islamic Republic of Iran's regime and its military wings and militias such as Hezbollah and other Shi’a groups.

Zara Saleh