SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iranian forces have detained 19 Kurds for participating in Newroz celebration in the Iranian Kurdistan this week, a rights watchdog said on Thursday.
The Iranian security forces arrested four people in Ney village in west of Marivan on Wednesday and Tuesday, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said in a statement.
The security forces also detained another person in Sanandaj and five more in Oshanvieh, said Hengaw which monitors human rights abuses in Iranian Kurdistan.
Nine more people were also taken to custody in Saqqez, it added.
Kurds in the Kurdistan Region, Iran, Turkey, Syria and the world celebrate Newroz with bonfires and dancing on March 20 every year. Newroz is the arrival of spring and new year in Kurdish culture.
