Peshmerga family: Iran kills a son, wounds one, arrests three

Sanandaj, Iran (Kurdistan24) - The family of the fallen Peshmerga said on Tuesday that Iranian guards refuse to inform them of the whereabout of their wounded son and have arrested two more son and three cousins.

On Friday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran shot three members of a Kurdish opposition dead and injured one.

Ramin Hossein Panahi who suffered two shots was transported to a hospital in Sanandaj, the provincial capital of Kurdistan, but was taken to custody after about half an hour and before receiving proper treatment.

The Hossein Panahi family who has lost several members in the past few years to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s unlawful suppression of the Kurdish opposition is currently grieving the loss of Sabah Hossein Panahi while being overwhelmingly anxious about the fate of their missing and injured child, Ramin.

The family told Kurdistan24 that the guards also raided their house on Friday night, attacking the older sister Parvaneh Hossein Panahi, and beating their elderly father but did not stop there.

The guards arrested the younger brother Afshin Hossein Panahi without clarifying where he would be taken. On Saturday, the older brother Anwar Hossein Panahi was also taken to custody while visiting his traumatized parents.

The grieving family is now shocked and terrified for the fate of their three children in custody, one already wounded by gunshots.   

Three cousins of the Peshmerga have also been arrested. 

Taimoor Aliassi, the founder and president of the Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran-Geneva (KMMK-G) told Kurdistan24 that such arbitrary detentions are against Iranian and international laws.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is party to the Geneva Convention of 1949 and according to the international humanitarian law, especially common Article III of the Geneva Convention, the Iranian state has the obligation to refrain from engaging in the unlawful targeting, killing or collective punishment of civilians and individuals peacefully exercising their fundamental rights in these areas," Aliassi said.

"The KMMK-G is extremely concerned by the dramatic increase in arbitrary arrests and killings of Kurdish civilians," he added.

According to his organization since January 2017, more than 269 Kurdish citizens have been detained and in the last seventeen months, two hundred and twelve (212) Kurdish civilians became victims of extra-judicial shootings by the Iranian security forces.

Activists have set up a Facebook page to campaign for his safe release. 

Kurdish and international human rights organizations urge Iran to provide medical attention to the detainee and give them a fair trial.