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The possibility of the forced disappearance of Jakan Baran, a Kurdish human rights activist, is very high

Enforced disappearance of Jakan Baran, Kurdish human rights activist
Enforced disappearance of Jakan Baran, Kurdish human rights activist
posted onApril 3, 2024
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Hossein Bagheri, alias jakan Baran, an Iranian Kurdish author and human rights activist who lived in the Kurdistan Region, has been missing for the past ten days. He is physically disabled in both legs and cannot move.

According to the report received by Avatody, due to the existing threats, Jakan was supposed to migrate to Europe through a human trafficker named "Aram Moradi", but since the first days of his move, there has been no information about his fate.

Jakan Baran was forced to leave his hometown and stay in Iraqi Kurdistan due to repeated summons and threats from the intelligence agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He was also arrested and tortured several times by the organizations, including on March 19, 2019, for holding the Nowruz ceremony, and then on April 7 of the same year, he was released on bail.

This Kurdish activist from Malikshahi, Ilam, made the last phone call to his friends near the Turkish border and has been not heard from him since.

Enforced disappearance of Jakan Baran, Kurdish human rights activist
a picture of Jakan Baran in April 2019, after his release from Ilam prison

In a video message recorded before his disappearance, he says that a person named Aram Moradi, from Kermanshah, has been asking him for months to transfer him to Europe through Turkey.

Continuing his words in this video, Jakan says: "Because of security threats, he is forced to migrate to Europe" and further adds: "If this video is published, know that Aram Moradi and his companions have created a problem for me."

Hossein Moradi, nicknamed Aram, Ali's son, introduced himself as a human trafficker and, establishing friendly relations with Jakan, offered him to immigrate to Europe without receiving a fee.

Informed sources have stated that Aram Moradi has been employed by the intelligence agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran since two years ago. By communicating with Kurdish activists and journalists in the Kurdistan Region and Turkey, under the pretext of supporting them for their transfer to Europe, he attempts to assassinate or kidnap the activists and hand them over to the Islamic Republic.

It should be mentioned that Jakan Baran was threatened to be kidnapped last year during the Women, Life, Freedom movement by Abdul Wahab Bakshandeh, the Prosecutor General of Ilam province.

Iran's security forces had even raided the residence of jakan's family several times and threatened them that they should return Zhakan from Iraqi Kurdistan.

In spite of all these threats, Jakan Baran requested for help while repeatedly referring to the United Nations and the consulate of European countries in Erbil, but none of them were willing to help him.

He even went on strike once on May 30, 2021, in protest against the lack of consideration of the demands of Iranian Kurdish refugees and asylum seekers, in front of the United Nations representative and sewed his lips.

Being unaware of the fate of Jakan Baran and his forced disappearance has increased the concern of his relatives and human rights activists.