A step forward, requiring continued practical and judicial measures regarding the official cessation of anti-Iran armed groups’ activities in Iraq
Following the official order issued by the Iraqi National Security Advisor, Qasim al-Araji, prohibiting the activities of all anti-Iranian armed parties and groups on Iraqi soil, particularly in the Kurdistan Region, the Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch welcomes this historic decision. It calls for the immediate and practical implementation of this order, the judicial prosecution of the leaders of these groups, clarification of the fate of Iranian citizens, and support for victims of violence and extremism.
According to field reports and legal documentation gathered by the Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch, hundreds of Iranian citizens, including children, adolescents, youth, women, and men, have fallen victim in recent years to the illegal actions, forced recruitment, torture, and political
exploitation by Anti-Iran groups such as PJAK, PAK, Komala, and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan. These are victims whose voices have often been ignored in the prevailing silence within the Kurdistan Region. Many Iranian citizens, who joined these groups for various reasons, including deception and false promises like immigration to Europe, remain missing. Enforced disappearance, a core policy of these groups, has prevented accurate information about the fate, burial sites, causes of death, etc., of hundreds of Iranian citizens from coming to light.
In cases such as the complaint against Hossein Yazdanpanah, the leader of the so-called PAK group, an arrest warrant has been issued, but the Kurdistan Regional Government has taken no serious action to execute it. This inaction occurs despite the security agreement between Tehran and Baghdad, which obligates Iraq to prevent the activities of anti-Iranian terrorist groups. Now, with the issuance of this order, the path to justice has become clearer. It is evident that the Kurdistan Region is part of Iraqi territory and cannot and should not consider itself separate from the Iraqi government and the directives of the authorities in Baghdad. The Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch emphasizes that the implementation of this order will be incomplete without holding the leaders of the armed groups accountable. It is expected that by forming judicial cases in Baghdad and Tehran, and through mutual judicial cooperation, the leaders of these groups will be arrested, tried, and brought to justice. These leaders must be tried in Iran and held accountable for their armed, terrorist, and destabilizing actions.
Furthermore, determining the status of individuals who were recruited through deceptive propaganda by these groups and are now being held in closed camps is a humanitarian necessity. These teenagers and young adults, if granted amnesty and provided with the possibility of return, would undoubtedly not remain in these harsh and unsafe environments for even a single day. Many of these individuals intend to return to their country and escape the hellish headquarters of these armed cults, but they are effectively imprisoned by these terrorist groups and are even denied visits with their families or even a simple phone call. Returning these individuals to their families is one of the most important joint responsibilities of the governments of Iran, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region. Sustainable security at the borders is not only necessary to protect the lives of citizens but also a prerequisite for economic development, cross-border trade, investment, and improving the living conditions in the deprived areas of western Iran and northern Iraq. Decades of insecurity and violence have deprived these regions of growth opportunities; now, with the official end of armed groups’ activities in Iraqi territory, the time for reconstruction and development has arrived. This development and stability will benefit both Iran and Iraq, and the Kurdish-populated regions of both countries will gain from it.
The Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch once again emphasizes the necessity of legal follow-up and documentation of the crimes of these groups and declares its readiness to cooperate with the governments of Iran and Iraq in the process of addressing complaints, identifying victims, and supporting the return of those harmed.
