Kolbars face harsher measures at the hands of Iraqi border guards

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kolbars, whose livelihoods depend on the transfer of untaxed goods on the border areas between Iran and the Kurdistan Region increasingly face heavy-handed measures from both sides, with some being killed, others injured, while those who are detained reportedly face abuse in detention.

Kolbars and locals from the border areas told Rudaw that Iraqi border forces have been tightening measures in the past two months. 

According to the France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) that monitors the situation in western Iran’s Kurdish regions (Rojhelat), four kolbars have been killed so far this month by Iranian security forces, while another 42 were injured. 

Both KHRN and Hengaw Organization for Human Rights - which also monitors human rights violations in Rojhelat - reported that a kolbar was killed on Monday by Iraqi border forces. 

The Iraqi border guards rejected the claim. However, an Iraqi official told Rudaw they have received orders to shoot at kolbars "from the waist down."

Both organizations said the kolbars were attacked from close range without any prior warning, killing one of them after a bullet struck his head. At least another kolbar was injured in the same incident. 

The kolbar was named Hoshyar Mahmoudi, a father of three from Paveh, Rojhelat. Hengaw claimed he was killed by “direct fire” from the Iraqi border guards.

The Iraqi border guards are mostly Kurdish, but they receive their orders from the Iraqi government. 

"We are under an enormous amount of pressure from the Iraqi government," Hawraman Mohammed, a media officer for the border guards in Halabja, told Rudaw on Sunday. 

"Several days ago, the commander of the Iraqi border guards came to visit, you know what he said, fire them from the waist down [of their body]," the  official said, describing the type of orders they receive from the Iraqi government. 

Earlier this week, a video went viral on social media networks showing several kolbars after their detention in the Hawraman area in the Kurdistan Region. The footage showed bruises and injuries on their faces, legs and hands. They appear saying that they were mistreated by the Iraqi border guards. 

They also appeared to have had their hair shaved. The kolbars said the border forces had done so in their attempt to belittle them. 

"I am Kolbar. I am Kurdish and I come from Javanrud," one of the kolbars who was detained by the Iraqi border guards said in the video. He appears alongside several kolbars, all of them having their hair cut off. 

"The border guards arrested us last night, said all kinds of swear words, cut our hair and did not provide any food until this morning," the man continued. He said their mobile phones were confiscated and never returned to them. He also added that he is married and has three children including one who is disabled.

The person recording the video then shows a handwritten document, stating this is evidence of their arrest by Iraqi border guards and their hand-over to an immigration office in the area. This account was corroborated by a local who chose to remain anonymous. 

The document, which includes the names of eight people, said "their arrangements have been concluded, and they can now be handed down to the Iranian authorities."

"This was by the border guards," the man who recorded the video asked, "yes, the border guards," they said, using the Arabic name of the force, as they are referred to in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. 

Hamza Mahmoudi, one of the Kolbars who was arrested with the group, told Rudaw that there were 20 people, but very few could appear in the video out of fear of reprisal by the Iraqi border guards. 

He claimed they surrendered themselves only when the Iraqi border guards opened direct fire. In the past, he said, they used to point their guns to the sky, but this time it appeared to be aimed at harming them.

"We surrendered so that we could save our lives," he said. 

After their release, they were once again arrested by another Iraqi police patrol, he claimed, adding they were released for the second time only when the Iraqi security forces could see that their hair was cut, suggesting it was a protocol by the Iraqi side.

The group included people aged “between 16 to 55 years old,” according to Hamza Mahmoudi.

Hamza Mahmoudi told Rudaw that he had been arrested in the past by the Iraqi border forces.  "They treated us with utmost respect," he said of his previous experience, adding that the new measures have come into effect only in the past two months.

A local who witnessed the detention of the kolbars in Tawela, a town right on the border with Iran, said the situation is unbearable for the kolbars. He, too, said the new measures are new, and that "the Iraqi border guards use live fire now."

Zhila Mustaajir, an executive board member of Hengaw organization, told Rudaw on Sunday they have received concerning reports regarding the mistreatment of kolbars at the hands of the Iraqi side. 

"They are used to mistreatment and killings at the hands of Iranian authorities," she said about the lives and difficulties the kolbars are facing, as they cross the treacherous mountain areas between the two countries.  "But this is the first time they receive the same treatment at the hands of the Iraqi border guards,” indicating that the mistreatment was previously conducted by Iranian border guards only. 

Mustaajir added that the people in Rojhelat "felt truly hurt," by the incident, claiming that the violence was committed by Kurdish-speaking border guards, something that she said was unprecedented. 

Hawraman said Iraqi border guards had arrested around 700 kolbars last year, all of whom, according to him, were treated with respect. 

"I am not saying our forces are angels," he said, "perhaps some have shortcomings."

"We are the border guards. Our mission is to stop people from illegally leaving or entering the country. Our mission is to stop the illegal transfer of goods to and from the country," he said while detailing the measures they take at the border. 

Hamza Mahmoudi, the kolbar who was arrested and mistreated, told Rudaw he will do it again. 

"We will go back again. We have no other option."