“General Strike” in Sanandaj in Protest Against Execution of Heidar Ghorbani and “State-Sponsored Killing”
Following a call by several Kurdish civil activists for a general strike in Kurdistan cities to protest the execution of Heidar Ghorbani, a political prisoner, many residents of Sanandaj stayed home on Thursday, December 2nd.
Shortly after, videos were released from the cities of Baneh and Boukan in this regard.
Kurdish civil activists on Tuesday, November 30th, issued a statement calling on people from various cities in Kurdistan to stay home on Thursday and refrain from going to work in order to condemn the execution of Heidar Ghorbani and protest the Islamic Republic’s policy of “denial, repression and intimidation.”
In part of this statement, referring to death sentences issued for several other Kurdish political prisoners, it stated that “through such a strike, we can take action to cancel and reduce their unjust sentences.”
According to a photographic report by the human rights website Hengaw, many shops in Sanandaj remained closed on Thursday and the city was completely deserted.
On Thursday, videos were also released on social media from the cities of Baneh and Boukan showing closed shops and bazaars.
Heidar Ghorbani, a political prisoner who was previously charged with “rebellion and participation in the premeditated murder of three people” and membership in opposition groups to the Islamic Republic, was secretly executed on Sunday, December 19th, in Sanandaj Prison despite domestic and international protests.
Following the news of Heidar Ghorbani’s secret execution, a considerable number of residents from the city of Kamyaran gathered in front of his house on Sunday despite threats from the Islamic Republic’s security institutions.
In response to the execution of Mr. Ghorbani, two United Nations experts issued a statement on Wednesday, December 1st, condemning his secret execution and describing it as an “apparent disregard” by Iran for “its obligations under international human rights law.”
Source: Radio Farda
