ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The underground Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), the only Kurdish group still locked in armed struggle with Iran, warned it would not let Saturday’s execution of jailed member Habibollah Golparipour go unanswered.
"Our senior leader Golparipour was hanged by the Islamic Republic and he died like a martyred hero,” the group said in a statement, also referring to him by his other name, Bahoz Sina. “These attacks and the execution of Bahoz Sina will not go unanswered," it warned.
It added that PJAK, which has claimed responsibility for killing a number of Iranian border guards and soldiers over the past several years, had been recently trying to declare a ceasefire in its fight.
"But as usual, Iran's response to our peaceful attempts is attacks, pressure and the execution of Kurdish political prisoners," it said. ”In a situation like this a ceasefire becomes quite difficult and we will have to reassess Iran's policies towards the Kurdish people."
PJAK agreed to a ceasefire with Iran in 2011, but that has been breached many times. Saturday’s warning of revenge was unusually strong.
PJAK is perceived by other Iranian Kurdish groups as a wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is fighting for Kurdish rights in Turkey but has support and tentacles in Kurdish communities everywhere. PJAK leader Abdulrahman Haji Ahmadi is based in Europe.
"The Islamic Republic is speaking of political opening and democracy in its international relations, but inside the country it is pursuing a very hostile policy towards minority groups, including the Kurds," read PJAK's statement.
Activists inside Iran say that two Kurdish political prisoners known as Luqman Moradi and Zanyar Muradi, who are not related and are currently held in Karaj, are also at risk of execution.
