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Two Iranian Kurdish feminists charged with
'terrorism'
17.12.2007
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December
17, 2007
Sanandaj (Sina), Iranian Kurdistan,-- Iran
has charged two Kurdish women's rights activists
with taking part in "terrorist" actions and
belonging to a militant Kurdish separatist PJAK
group, an investigating judge said on Sunday.
Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi were "arrested for
acting against national security by taking part in
attacks in Sanandaj and for being members of the
militant group PJAK," the official IRNA agency
quoted the judge as saying.
The Kurdish rebel group PJAK (Party of Free Life of
Kurdistan), has been behind a string of deadly
attacks on the Iranian revolutionary guard in
(Iranian Kurdistan), northwestern Iran in recent
months.www.ekurd.net
Since 2004 PEJAK took up arms for self-rule in the
country's mainly Kurdistan province northwestern of
Iran. Half the members of PEJAK are women.
Iran's Kurdistan, Kermanshah and West Azarbaijan
provinces, which border Kurdistan region 'northern
Iraq', have substantial Kurdish populations.
Sanandaj is the capital of Kurdistan province.
The judge, whose name was not reported, said that
the two women were using their activities as women's
rights activists as cover for their connections to
the separatist militants.
"Counter-revolutionary groups use civic groups to
carry out terrorist actions," he said.
The two women were part of a nationwide campaign in
Iran to collect a million signatures in favour of
changing laws in the Islamic republic which are seen
as discriminating against women.
"The arrest of these people has no link to the
million signatures campaign. They were carrying out
activities as part of the objectives of the PJAK
group," the judge said.
"People have also been arrested in Tehran for having
carried out acts in favour of PJAK under the cover
of the million signatures campaign," he added,
without giving further details.
The detention of Safarzadeh and Abdi had already
triggered concern among Western rights groups but
this was the first time their charges had been
confirmed by the Iranian authorities.
AFP
Iranian Kurdistan
**
Iranian Kurdistan (Kurdish: Kurdistana Īranź or
Kurdistana Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) or Rojhilatź
Kurdistan (East of Kurdistan)) is an unofficial name
for the parts of Iran inhabited by Kurds and has
borders with Iraq and Turkey. It includes the
greater parts of West Azerbaijan province, Kurdistan
Province, Kermanshah Province, and Ilam Province.
Kurds form the majority of the population of this
region with an estimated population of 4 million.
The region is the eastern part of the greater
cultural-geographical area called Kurdistan.
More about Iranian Kurdistan
KDPI
The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran in Kurdish
(Hīzbī Dźmokiratī Kurdistanī Źran) is a Kurdish
opposition group in Iranian Kurdistan which seeks
the attainment of Kurdish national rights within a
democratic federal republic of Iran.
The current
General Secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian
Kurdistan is Mustafa Hijri
More about KDPI- Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
The present leader of the organisation is Haji
Ahmadi. According to the Washington Times, half the
members of PEJAK are women, many of them still in
their teens, and one of the female members of the
leadership council is Gulistan Dugan, a psychology
graduate from the University of Tehran. This is due
primarily to the fact that PEJAK is strongly
supportive of women's rights. PEJAK believes that
women must have a strong role in government and must
be on an equal level with men in leadership
positions.
More about PEJAK- Party for a
Free Life in Kurdistan
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