According to the Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch (IKHRW), a documentary report of the IKHRW on the burial and death of some Iranian teenagers and young people in PJAK headquarters and living caves of the group following avalanches and heavy snow led to many reactions and questions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the Kurdish regions of Iran.
To ask PJAK officials on the fate of these children and adolescents, the IKHRW went to investigate the issue by meeting one of these victim families whose son Benjamin Farajzadeh lost his life. In that report, the IKHRW claimed that PJAK had played an important role in deceiving and abducting Benjamin Farjouzadeh whose family was not aware of the question. The IKHRW reporter managed to interview the family once again.
In an interview with the IKHRW, Benjamin Farajzadeh’s sister provided us with new information. “Benjamin went to the Chelchemeh area to have fun with his friends, where he faced the PJAK terrorist group members,” she said. “They forced him to leave the country and transferred him to the group’s headquarters by deception and possibly threats. We know that Benjamin was forced to join them by two PJAK armed members. They kidnapped my brother. We know that Benjamin escaped and contacted his family from the Duhok shelter and informed us of the news. But when we went to Parastan security agency of the KRG, they denied it and claimed that he had left. We are sure that Benjamin is at the headquarters of Parastin. Unfortunately, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) forces are behaving like PJAK by abusing the Iranian recruits, and those who have escaped the PKK/PJAK headquarters are deceived again by the KRG to serve as ROJ PESHMERGE. “We are now worried about Benjamin’s life and we do not know what the KDP has done to Benjamin.”
Regarding Benjamin’s abduction, his sister added the family’s mental state after the Benjamin is getting worse: “Even now that we know he is alive, we do not know where he is. We do not know what to do. Benjamin called home only twice from Duhok’s Parastin offices, because PJAK does not allow for any phone calls and visits. They only chant slogans in support of the Kurds, but they kill Kurdish children and youth. We thank God that they did not deceive my younger brother. He is now 10 years old. In Benjamin’s absence, my mother’s eyes can hardly see anymore. She is in a bad mood.”
Benjamin Farajzadeh’s sister also added on his escaping the PJAK: “Benjamin was in PJAK headquarters for nine months and then fled. If his membership was optional, then why did he escape? He was abducted and detained for nine months in Qandil Mountain. We are glad that Benjamin has escaped this group. We wish this group would be collapsed. Because it has destroyed many families.”
It is worth mentioning that the IKHRW, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Iranian diplomatic missions in the KRG, seeks to determine the dimensions of the issue.
