هەواڵ
The Alliance 19 Network condemned the assault on the protesters’ sit-in in Penjween District and called for the release of those detained, while urging the relevant authorities to provide clarification regarding the alleged violations.
بڵاوکراوەتەوە لە : 22 ئەیلوول 2026
قەبارەی دەقەکان
قەبارەی دەقەکان
For the past three days, a group of residents of Penjween District, located 96 kilometers northeast of Sulaymaniyah, had gathered on Malakawa Road to protest electricity prices and had set up a protest camp. During the protest, hundreds of citizens, most of them young people, visited the site day and night and held artistic activities.
Early this morning, September 22, 2026, security forces surrounded the protesters from three directions—Sayid Sadiq, Bashmakh and Malaka—and forcibly dispersed them. Several protesters were detained, and their tents were set on fire.
Bakhtiar Ali Mustafa, one of the organizers of the protest, told the Alliance 19 Network that the security forces opened fire. Some protesters managed to escape, while others were detained.
“We do not know who has been detained, but dozens of participants have switched off their phones. There are between 40 and 50 of them,” he said.
According to the statement, the security forces detained people who were present at the site, including children who were vendors and had no connection to the protest.
Bakhtiar said the security forces had been brought in from outside Penjween District and had taken the detainees with them.
Some of the security forces have not withdrawn from Malaka and remain stationed at the protest site.
The Iraqi Constitution and the Kurdistan Region’s law regulating demonstrations guarantee citizens the right to protest and hold peaceful gatherings.
The Alliance 19 Network condemned the assault on the protesters’ sit-in in Penjween District, called for the release of those detained, and demanded that the relevant authorities provide clarification regarding the alleged violations.
The Alliance 19 Network was established by a group of organizations and human rights activists and is overseen by the Metro Center. It advocates the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments concerning rights and freedoms, particularly Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
