France Press Report on Iranian Kurds Who Fled to Iraqi Kurdistan After Protests

France Press has reported on the challenges faced by Iranian Kurdish refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan, ten months after the protests following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini. According to the report, Sarina is a 17-year-old girl who fled to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, after recent protests in Iran. Sarina, originally from Oshnaviyeh in West Azerbaijan Province, was in Mahabad during the protests and joined the demonstrators there. After the arrest of a friend, she went into hiding. However, security agents of the Islamic Republic raided her home and arrested her uncle. Sarina illegally crossed the mountainous border between Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan in late October last year and eventually reached Erbil. She earns a monthly salary of $800 by working as a secretary in an office in the mornings and as a waitress in a restaurant in the afternoons, which covers her basic expenses. Sarina told France Press, "My family has to accept that I am here. It is very difficult for them. They are worried about my situation." She added, "I don’t want to be far from my country. I want to be able to return to my family quickly if something happens in my country." Another Iranian Kurd, using the alias 'Foad', 27 years old, told France Press that he fled to Iraqi Kurdistan through snow-covered mountains in winter. Foad, originally from Piranshahr, now works in a laptop shop in Erbil and sleeps on an old mattress in the same shop at night. He said, "I have a meaningless life. Days turn into nights and nights into days. I left everything I had in Iran – my mother, father, home, job." Foad also participated in the protests over Mahsa (Zhina)'s death and hid for 40 days after his brother's arrest. He noted that security forces raided his home. Being away from family is very difficult for this 27-year-old. Foad said, "Every time my mother calls me, her eyes fill with tears; the same goes for my father." Rezgar Khosrow, 47, from Marivan, who has lived in Erbil with his wife and two daughters for 11 years, owns a pastry shop. The sign of Rezgar's shop features an image of Mahsa (Zhina) with a red rose in her hair. As protests over Mahsa (Zhina) Amini's death spread in Kurdish cities in Iran, several Iranian Kurds fled to Iraqi Kurdistan. According to France Press, there is no precise statistic on the number of Iranian Kurdish refugees in Kurdistan due to the protests over Mahsa (Zhina). The Kurdistan Regional Government has stated that the total number of Iranian Kurdish refugees in this region of Iraq exceeds 10,000. Many of these individuals have fled to Iraqi Kurdistan for many years. The report also mentions the risk of 'deportation' for Ayoub Abdollahi, an Iranian Kurdish protester, the arrest of two women in Saqqez and Piranshahr, and an increase in the number of detained Kurds to 490 in five months. Hamin Mostafai was executed following 'forced confession' in Sanandaj. There is increased pressure from the Islamic Republic on Kurdish religious figures in Iran. Exclusive reports indicate that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shelled areas in Erbil Province. Attacks by the IRGC on the positions of Kurdish groups opposing the Islamic Republic in Iraqi Kurdistan have intensified. A report from the Kurdistan Human Rights Association in Geneva states that the arrest, torture, killing, and execution of Kurdish citizens continue. Two Sunni clerics from Sanandaj have been summoned to the Special Court for Clergy.