Five Citizens from Oshnaviyeh Arrested in Connection with Nowruz Celebrations

Five citizens from Oshnaviyeh were arrested after being summoned by the city's intelligence department in West Azerbaijan Province. According to the Kurdpa website, these five individuals, named Hejar Mahmoudi, Delshad Shadab, Sami Mahmoudi Aghdam, Zaher Hajipour, and Basteh Ghaderzadeh, were detained on Tuesday, May 31. The report states that these citizens, including three photographers and a Kurdish language teacher, were arrested in connection with the coverage of this year's Nowruz celebrations in Oshnaviyeh. As of the publication of this news, no information has been released regarding their charges or place of detention. In recent months, several citizens from Kurdish regions of Iran have been arrested in connection with similar matters. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, at least 38 Kurdish citizens, civil activists, and artists have been arrested since the beginning of the new year due to their participation in this year's Nowruz celebrations, and this trend continues. Most of these individuals have been arrested by the IRGC Intelligence Organization. Despite the pressures from the Islamic Republic's intelligence agencies, thousands of residents from Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan provinces participated in the Nowruz celebrations of 1403. These celebrations began about a month before the new year and continued into the early weeks of spring. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its latest report, recommended that the U.S. government designate the Iranian government as a 'country of particular concern' due to its 'systematic, ongoing, and egregious' violations of religious freedoms. Nasser Baba Khani stated that the Islamic Republic views Nowruz celebrations in Iranian Kurdistan through a security lens. At least 22 citizens have been arrested in Oshnaviyeh and Rask. A Kurdish singer in Ilam was arrested 'due to participation in Nowruz celebrations.' There has been renewed criticism from Friday prayer leaders appointed by Khamenei against optional dress codes and Nowruz-related events.