In recent years, holding Newroz ceremonies in the form of large public celebrations with Kurdish symbols, lighting fires, collective dances, epic songs and in many cases political slogans has become a tradition in the cities and villages of Kurdistan. This tradition, apart from its cultural aspect and the Newroz calendar occasion, has roots in the mythological interpretation of Newroz as a symbol of struggle and victory among the Kurdish people.

The Newroz celebrations of 2024 in many cities and villages of Kurdistan, like previous years, faced prohibitions and restrictions, with the organisers and even participants being summoned and detained by the security agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. These celebrations, which continued from about a month before Newroz until the first weeks after it, were organised and held by self-organised groups in various areas of the provinces of Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan, despite all the efforts and threats by government security agencies to prevent them.

The coincidence of Ramadan with Newroz this year provided an excuse for the representatives of the Supreme Leader in Kurdistan’s cities to intervene, demanding the prevention of the Newroz celebrations and the prosecution of the organisers through government sermons during Friday prayers and the issuance of statements.

Among these reactions were speeches by Abedin Rostami, the Friday prayer leader of Qorveh, Kurdistan Province, and Mulla Ghader Ghaderi, the Friday prayer leader of Paveh, Kermanshah Province, in their government Friday sermons in these cities. They accused the organisers of public Newroz ceremonies of “promoting anti-cultural and unethical events” and called for severe security measures against them.

Several organisers of Newroz ceremonies in various cities of Kurdistan told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) that in most cities, security agencies initially tried to prevent these ceremonies by threatening and summoning the organisers by phone. However, in most cities and villages, the insistence of the organisers and the widespread participation of the people ensured that the celebrations were held magnificently.

According to these sources, the grassroots organisation and coordination in various cities of Kurdistan have become more coherent following the Women, Life, Freedom uprising. This year’s extensive Newroz celebrations, particularly in various parts of Ilam and Kermanshah provinces, saw a larger turnout than in previous years, reflecting this development.

However, the KHRN has learned that security agencies in Kermanshah and Ilam, after the Newroz ceremonies in the cities and villages of these provinces, have widely summoned Kurdish civilians and activists, warning that they will not allow similar ceremonies in the coming years.

The Newroz celebration in Gilan-e-Gharb, Kermanshah Province, was among the ceremonies that security agencies tried to cancel before it was held on 21 March 2024. The city’s governor also declared the Newroz celebration in the Navdar area illegal and without permission, holding the organisers responsible for any consequences of holding such a ceremony.

On the morning of 21 March, security forces arrived at the celebration site, confiscated banners and other equipment, and blocked the roads leading to the Newroz celebration site in the Navdar area to prevent people from attending. Despite this, thousands of people from Gilan-e-Gharb and surrounding cities reached the site. However, security pressures continued with the summoning and detention of several organisers and participants in the days following the event.

The repression and crackdown by government forces were not limited to summons and arrests or preventing Newroz ceremonies. In some cases, private recreational facilities in Kurdistan were closed, and even public recreational areas saw gunfire aimed at civilians. For instance, in mid-March, the eco-tourism resort in the village of Meyham-e Olya, near Qorveh, was sealed off by judicial authorities, and judicial cases were filed against some organisers of Newroz eve celebrations in the villages of Qorveh.

Also, on 21 March, security-military forces fired at a group of young people in the Eastern Park of Kermanshah, near the historical site of Tagh-e Bostan, who were playing music, dancing, and celebrating. As a result of the shooting, two Kurdish youths, Mohammad Ahmadian and Arman Basiri, were severely injured in their legs.

The KHRN has learned that since Newroz, at least 38 Kurdish civilians, civil rights activists, and artists have been arrested for organising or participating in the ceremonies, and the process of summoning, arresting, and filing judicial cases against civil rights activists, artists, and even ordinary civilians in connection with these ceremonies is ongoing.

The following is a list of these individuals and the information that is available about them:

  • Hassan Kakaei, a Kurdish artist, was arrested by security forces in Bukan on 24 March for singing epic songs during the Newroz celebrations in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, and Saqqez, Kurdistan Province. He was released after one day of interrogation, during which he was severely beaten.
  • Hawram Mehr-Navaei, from Bukan and one of those arrested during the Women, Life, Freedom uprising, was arrested on 2 April.
  • Kamran Badbrout and Faraj Arsan, from Malekshahi, Ilam Province, were arrested on 3 April following a violent raid on their homes by security forces for taking part in a Newroz celebration attended by thousands in Malekshahi.
  • Rasoul Galehban, a Kurdish journalist and manager of the Urmiye 24 news outlet, was arrested on 7 April after the Orumiyeh Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office filed a complaint regarding the city’s Newroz celebrations. He was summoned by the Cyber Police and released a few days later.
  • Salman Olfati, a retired teacher and civil rights activist from Gilan-e Gharb, Kermanshah Province, was arrested on 12 April by the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in one of the city’s streets.
  • Mohsen Ahmadi, a teacher and one of the organisers of the Newroz ceremony in Karzan, Sirvan County, Ilam Province, was arrested by security forces on 10 April.
  • Mohsen Ghader-Rash and Omid Ghadernezhad, from the village of Haji Hassan Shamat in Miandoab, West Azerbaijan Province, were arrested on 17 April after being summoned to the IRGC intelligence office in the city.
  • Hesamoddin Mahmoudi, Mowloud Rousta, and Hassan Rasouli, three civilians from Oshnavieh, West Azerbaijan Province, were arrested on 1 May. At the same time, security forces raided the house of Yousef Haji Khosh, a member of the Central Council and Executive Committee of the United Kurdish Front, in the village of Kona Ghala and arrested him while beating him.
  • Hadi Lawa, a Kurdish singer, Ghafour Sheikh-Mohammadi, Ako Ebrahimi, Mohammad Soltanpour, and Jafar Rasouli were arrested at their homes in Oshnavieh on 30 April.
  • Salah Ghazi was arrested in the village of Gundeh Vileh in Oshnavieh, while Arman Ebrahimi, Omid Rashid-Pak, Rahim Rafati, and Fakhraddin Modarresi were arrested in other areas of Oshnavieh on 2 May.
  • Bardin (Hamzeh) Jafari, a Kurdish artist from Gilan-e Gharb, Kermanshah Province, was arrested during a raid on his home in Gilan-e Gharb on 3 May by armed officers of the Intelligence Organisation the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and taken to a security detention centre in Kermanshah. He was released five days later.
  • Zanko Iranzadeh and Omar Sharifpour, from the village of Qaleh Rash in Sardasht, West Azerbaijan Province, were arrested by security forces on 7 May.
  • Ayoub Rasoulzadeh, an environmental activist, and Haji Barzeh, a civil rights activist and brother of the Kurdish political prisoner Bapir Barzeh, were arrested by security forces in Piranshahr on 8 May.
  • Rahman Khosravi, Osman Abbasi, Shahram Soltani, and Hemin Alizadeh, all from the village of Haji Abad in Shahin Dej, West Azerbaijan Province, were arrested on 9 May following a violent raid on their homes by security forces.
  • Edris Haji-Rasoulpour, the brother of Mohammad Haji-Rasoulpour, who was killed during the Women, Life, Freedom anti-government uprising in Bukan, and Ebrahim Hamzeh were arrested by security forces in Bukan on 9 May.
  • Salar Beygi, Ali Shiri, and Nasser Moradi, all from the village of Quzluy-e Afshar in Shahin Dej, were arrested by security forces on 11 May.
  • Loghman Haji-Khosh, a civilian from the village of Kohneh Qaleh in Oshnavieh, was summoned by telephone to the Ministry of Intelligence in the city before being arrested on 11 May.