JINHA

NEWS CENTER – As Iranian forces continue the state of emergency in the city of Mahabad, Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan), in the wake of the death of young Kurdish woman FerinazXosrawanî, a new report confirms suspicions that Iranian security forces have resorted to extreme violence to crush the protests.

Mahabad locals refuse to abandon their protest in the wake of the death of FerinazXosrawanî. Ferinaz jumped to save herself from the fourth floor of her workplace, Mahabad's Tara Hotel, to escape a rape attempt by Iranian intelligence officers.

KHRN (Kurdistan Human Rights Network) has released a report concerning the situation and events in the city. KHRNhas been in contact with local sources from the onset of the tensions. The heavy military presence that makes information from Mahabad hard to come by, making the KHRN report one of the first detailed account of the events.

While KHRN could not confirm the two deaths reported by some local sources or the exact identities of the many protestors arrested, the report paints a picture of extreme military force in Mahabad and surrounding Eastern Kurdish cities. Iranian security forces have opened fire on civilians with shotguns, flooded Mahabad with thousands of military and police forces and conducted house raids in an attempt to crush the protests.

The full report is as follows:

On Monday, May 4, a Kurdish women by the name of FerinazXosrawanî who was an employee of Hotel Tara in Mahabad was, as stated by local sources, “put into a situation where a government security employee was going to raped her.” FerinazXosrawanî fell out of the fourth story of the hotel she worked in during this confrontation with the government security employee and the circumstances surrounding her death have not yet been confirmed.

When FerinazXosrawanî’s body was found in front of the hotel and crowds started to gather, the government security employee involved was arrested and taken for questioning. Due to pressure on the family to not speak and the silence of security forces and the Iranian Government, it is still unclear what circumstances led to her death.

A local source inside Mahabad’s Central Prison has told KHRN that the government security employee arrested was initially taken to the quarantine department of the prison but was then transferred to an unknown location.

The local source also stated: “After the break of the news on social media and Kurdish news outlets, a call was put out to all citizens of Mahabad to gather in front of Hotel Tara on Thursday afternoon. Thursday, May7, at 2:00 p.m. citizens started to gather in front of the Hotel in response to the call. The hotel was emptied out and guarded by 50 security officers. As the crowd grew larger security forces attacked unarmed citizens with tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd. Citizens responded by throwing rocks and scraps from the street. This lasted for about an hour before security forces withdrew to observe from a distance. This is when the crowd entered the hotel and set it on fire, including three cars parked in the hotel's parking area.

During this time, local Kurdish employees of the Revolutionary Guards were in a celebration held for their service to the Guards and the Regime and were unable to attend the protest with security forces. After 7:00 p.m., once the celebration was over, Local Kurdish Revolutionary Guards under the command of General MohammadrezaNaghdi joined security forces at the protest and once again clashed with protestors. All surrounding streets of the hotel were filled with protestors clashing with security forces and Revolutionary Guards. Forces then used shotguns to directly shoot at protestors injuring many at least 20 civilians. One of the injured protestors was rushed to hospital for serious injuries.Rumors are that two protestors were killed, however, the KHRN was unable to confirm any deaths or obtain any further information regarding any casualties.

Protests lasted until 2:00 a.m. on Thursday night in Mahabad. An emergency security committee attended by the High Court Judge of Mahabad, the head of Security Intelligence, head of Revolutionary Guards and the head of the local Mahabad Police was called. The committee resolved that these protests must not go on any longer and all footage and pictures from the protests must be collected, analyzed and participants identified for arrest. Reinforcements were called in from Miyandoab and Tabriz to join Security Forces to attack protestors just after 2:00 a.m. As forces numbered in the thousands they were able to attack and disperse the continued protests.

In the early morning of Friday, May 8, security forces conducted house raids and arrested more than 20 civilians allegedly identified in protest videos and photos. Those arrested were taken to detention centers outside of Mahabad.However, their exact location is unknown at this time.

The KHRN can confirm one of the civilians arrested as OmidOsmani. The names of others arrested cannot be confirmed at this stage.

A state of emergency was sanctioned in Mahabad with heavy military vehicles guarding all streets. The cities of Bokan, Oshnooi (also known as Shnow), Sine and Mariwan have also been sanctioned with a heavy military presence as another call out to citizens of all Kurdish cities was put out through social media asking people to continue protests today.

(nt/cm)