ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran has interrogated six people in connection with allegations of spreading anti-regime propaganda during Newroz celebrations last year, according to a rights group. The move comes amid reports that Iranian authorities are seeking to prevent Newroz celebrations this year.
Five civil activists and a Kurdish singer, facing propaganda charges, were questioned by a revolutionary court in Sanandaj on Monday, the France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported on Wednesday.
The six have been released on bail pending trial.
The charges stem from celebrations of the Kurdish New Year, Newroz, last March in a hall in Sanandaj.
Authorities are attempting to prevent celebrations from taking place this year, KHRN reported.
Organizers of events “in various cities have been threatened over the telephone by security forces over the last few weeks,” the rights monitor stated.
Komala, a Kurdish party opposed to the Iranian government, has reported activists in Mariwan being threatened by the intelligence ministry “not to arrange any Newroz activities,” warning the organizers they will be held accountable “if any irregular events occur during this period.”
Newroz is celebrated on March 21, with the coming of spring. Kurds light a Newroz fire, sing and dance.
These celebrations have grown in popularity in recent years in Kurdish areas of Iran, known to Kurds as Rojhelat, where people want to revive the traditions. Last year, many chose to wear the traditional checked scarf, jamadani, as a sign of their Kurdish culture.
An ethnic minority in Iran, Kurds face discrimination and restrictions of their cultural and political activities. The Kurdish provinces are among the poorest in the country.
Five civil activists and a Kurdish singer, facing propaganda charges, were questioned by a revolutionary court in Sanandaj on Monday, the France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported on Wednesday.
The six have been released on bail pending trial.
The charges stem from celebrations of the Kurdish New Year, Newroz, last March in a hall in Sanandaj.
Authorities are attempting to prevent celebrations from taking place this year, KHRN reported.
Organizers of events “in various cities have been threatened over the telephone by security forces over the last few weeks,” the rights monitor stated.
Komala, a Kurdish party opposed to the Iranian government, has reported activists in Mariwan being threatened by the intelligence ministry “not to arrange any Newroz activities,” warning the organizers they will be held accountable “if any irregular events occur during this period.”
Newroz is celebrated on March 21, with the coming of spring. Kurds light a Newroz fire, sing and dance.
These celebrations have grown in popularity in recent years in Kurdish areas of Iran, known to Kurds as Rojhelat, where people want to revive the traditions. Last year, many chose to wear the traditional checked scarf, jamadani, as a sign of their Kurdish culture.
An ethnic minority in Iran, Kurds face discrimination and restrictions of their cultural and political activities. The Kurdish provinces are among the poorest in the country.
As the entire nation in Iran celebrates Newroz, the nationalist Kurds tend to differ and consider Newroz to be a symbol of national resistance against the four states where Kurds are split including Iran. During the New Year events, people celebrate by displaying Kurdish symbols through clothing, flags, and music and food.
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