ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) said on Saturday that one of their members was “handed over” to the Iranian authorities by Sulaimani security forces (Asayish), denying previous Asayish claims that the person did not have residency permit and voluntarily returned to Iran.
A human rights monitor reported on Thursday that Asayish had recently handed over Behzad Khasrawi, a KDPI member, to Iranian authorities after detaining and torturing him. Asayish said the following day that his detainment was due to a lack of a visitor or residency permit, claiming that Khasrawi returned to Iran “voluntarily.”
The KDPI said in a statement on Saturday that Khasrawi had been detained twice before being “handed over to the [Iranian] intelligence in Sanandaj,” adding that their member had been legally residing in Sulaimani along with his mother and sister for ten years and had a certificate from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) that provides him with international protection as an asylum seeker.
The Iranian Kurdish party said it “condemns” the alleged handover of their member, noting that the Sulaimani authorities should have sought legal ways in the case of issues related to Khasrawi’s residency, rather handing him over to Tehran.
Rudaw English has seen documents which purportedly confirm Khasrawi’s KDPI membership, UNHCR Individual Certificate, and residency card which expires in December this year.
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.
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.
