Source:

Official Homepage: Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan ("Official Homepage: Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan") [ID 8335]

Document(s): Official Homepage: Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan

20.11.2007 - Source: Berliner Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Kurdologie

Response to the Administration court of Karlsruhe (in German): On Democratic Party of Kurdistan - Iran (PDK-I or KDP-I): Background information; possible risk for party activist from Iranian agents in Northern Iraq; influence and activities of Iranian security services in Northern Iraq ("Stellungnahme vom 20.11.2007 an VG Karlsruhe") [ID 22436]

Document(s): Open document

12.09.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

4 Kurdish men, held in Oromiye prison, face imminent execution ("Iran - UA 235/05") [#36518],  [ID 8331]

Document(s): Open document

08.2005 - Source: Freedom House

Religious minorities ("Freedom in the World 2005") [#41317],  [ID 8332]

"[...]There are few laws that discriminate against ethnic minorities, who are permitted to establish community centers and certain cultural, social, sports, and charitable associations. However, Kurdish demands for more autonomy and a greater voice in the appointment of a regional governor have not been met, and some Kurdish opposition groups are brutally suppressed. The opposition Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) alleged that two of its members were executed in December 2003. In June 2004, security forces reportedly arrested 80 ethnic Azeris for allegedly “spreading secessionist propaganda.”[...]"

Document(s): Open document

10.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: The KDPI has maintained a constant policy of demanding democracy for Iran and autonomy for the Kurds ("Country Assessment - October 2002") [#9556],  [ID 8333]

"Largest Kurdish opposition group, demanding autonomy. Based in Iraq. Gen. Sec. = Mustapha Hassanzadeh. Former Gen. Sec Sadiq Sharifkandeh assassinated Berlin 1992.
[...]
5.173. There are two major Kurdish parties in Iran as well as many smaller ones, including Kurdish branches of other Iranian political parties. [33] The KDPI was originally formed as an illegal organisation after World War II during the Shah's reign, to seek cultural and local autonomy. It has maintained a constant policy of demanding democracy for Iran and autonomy for the Kurds. It has not demanded a separate state, perhaps because of the close historical and cultural ties between Iran and its Kurds. Most of its support comes from the urban middle class, intellectuals, merchants and government employees. Since 1981, it has formally been part of the Iranian National Resistance Council (a coalition of Iranian opposition groups based in Paris) and has militarily opposed the Iranian government.

5.174. The regime deals harshly with its leaders and their militant supporters. There are reports of extrajudicial killings and questionable detentions of Kurdish militant activists. [4(b)][4(c)] In November 1998 a former member of the KDPI was sentenced to death following his forcible return to Iran from Turkey.

5.175. The KDPI has been driven into neighbouring Iraq. Iran's support for Jalal Talabani, the leader of the PUK which runs the chunk of the Iraqi enclave contiguous with Iran, has helped to prevent the KDPI from launching cross border attacks. It is not known whether the KDPI uses children as soldiers."

Document(s): Open document

11.2001 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

00.11.2001 - ACCORD: Harsh government acitivites against the KDPI and the assassination of several important members of the KDPI have dealt a serious blow to KDPI activities; the KDPI has no power basis in Iran ("7th European Country of Origin Information Seminar Berlin, 11 - 12 June 2001: Final Report - Iran") [#7661],  [ID 8334]

"Occasionally, there are reports of skirmishes in the areas bordering Iraq between the Iranian army and the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), which operates from Iraqi territory. However, the KDPI as well as the Komaleh, the Kurdish branch of the Communist Party of Iran, have seriously curtailed their activities. The murder of the former Leader of the KDPI, Abdolrahman Ghassemlou, in 1989 in Vienna and the later murder of his successor Sadegh Sharifkandi in Berlin (Mykonos restaurant) in 1992 as well as the murder of other important members of the KDPI in Northern Iraq have dealt a very serious blow to KDPI activities and to the morale of its members. As a consequence of the harsh actions initiated by the Iranian government against these groups they do have no power base inside Iran. Some very committed KDPI members
stated that they abandoned their party as they no longer had faith in its capacity and political agenda.

Although KDPI and CPI-Komaleh have no power basis in Iran and mainly share some facilities in Iraq, their members are at risk as they face incursions from the Iranian authorities."

Document(s): cois2001-irn.pdf