ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Sulaimani-based security forces (Asayish) said on Friday that they “voluntarily” returned to Iran a Kurd who did not possess a valid visa for the Kurdistan Region.
A human rights monitor had reported that the individual was a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) and was arrested and tortured in Sulaimani before he was handed over to Iranian authorities.
“After being arrested by Sulaimani Asayish for lack of a visitor or residency permit last week, investigations concluded that Behzad Khasrawi did not have a visitor or residency permit of the Kurdistan Region and was not involved in politics,” the Asayish said in a statement on Friday.
The Asayish said that Khasrawi requested to be returned to Iran and they took legal procedures to facilitate that, including having him sign a document stating that he was voluntarily returning.
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported on Thursday that 35-year-old Khasrawi is a member of the KDPI and has special needs, and that he was detained in the Kurdistan Region for posting photos of KDPI leaders on social media.
Khasrawi, who is from Saqqez in Kurdistan province, eastern Iran, was “severely tortured” by Sulaimani Asayish “before being handed over” to Iranian authorities, Hengaw stated.
Regarding the residency permit issue, Hengaw said that Khasrawi had a certificate from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) that provides him with international protection as an asylum seeker.
The rights group also said that Iranian intelligence contacted Khasrawi’s brother on Sunday to tell the family that he was detained. Khasrawi’s mother and sister, who live in Sulaimani, have been told by Asayish to leave the city within ten days, according to Hengaw.
Rudaw English was not able to independently verify Hengaw’s claims.
The arrest of Khasrawi comes against the backdrop of increasing pressure on Iranian Kurdish opposition parties who are based in the Kurdistan Region.
Iran’s Ambassador to Baghdad Mohammad Kazem Al-e Sadeq told Rudaw on Friday that Iran and Iraq will sign a number of new agreements, including in the field of security, when President Masoud Pezeshkian visits Baghdad later in this month.
The ambassador did not provide details of the new security agreements, but a pact signed between Iran and Iraq in March last year saw Baghdad agree to disarm Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions. Iran had threatened to use military action if Baghdad failed to fulfill the agreement.
