Threatening of Bukan artists; Kurdish epic and identity-oriented songs are "counter-revolutionary" and must not be performed

May 17, 2026; reports received by Kurdpa indicate a wave of telephone threats by security institutions against Bukan artists, including singers, musicians, and music activists. According to these reports, these individuals have been threatened that they must not use epic and identity-oriented Kurdish songs and works in their artistic activities, because these works are considered "counter-revolutionary" by security institutions.

An informed source, while confirming this news to Kurdpa, said: Following the arbitrary detention of "Seyyed Ali Ghoreishi," a popular artist and singer from Bukan, the Intelligence Department of Bukan, through extensive calls to a number of artists, singers, musicians, and individuals who own music centers, has severely threatened them that they must not use epic and identity-oriented Kurdish works and songs in their programs and works, otherwise they will face security and judicial confrontation.

This informed source says: The security forces of the Intelligence Department have called these songs and tunes "counter-revolutionary" and emphasized that artists must not use them in their works, otherwise they will face arrest and judicial and security confrontation.

Previously, Kurdpa had reported that on May 11, 2026, "Seyyed Ali Ghoreishi," a popular artist and singer from Bukan, was arrested by a raid of security forces on his home, without the presentation of a judicial warrant, and was transferred to an unknown location. Kurdpa has learned that following the passage of 7 days, he is still held in arbitrary detention in an unknown location and remains deprived of the right to access a lawyer, meetings, and contact with his family. Furthermore, after the news of the arrest was covered by the media, his family was also threatened as to why the news was published.

"Seyyed Ali Ghoreishi" is one of the well-known and popular artists of Bukan in the field of singing, who has been active for years in the field of performing folklore and traditional Kurdish songs, and is also a retired employee of the Bukan Telecommunications Department.

It is worth noting that these confrontations and threats against Kurdish artists constitute a clear violation of a collection of fundamental rights recognized in international human rights documents; including:

• Violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Which emphasizes the right to freedom of expression and the freedom to receive and impart thoughts and cultural and artistic works. Threatening artists for singing patriotic and identity-oriented Kurdish songs is a direct limitation of freedom of expression and artistic activity.
• Violation of Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Which recognizes the right of ethnic and linguistic minorities to preserve and express their culture, language, and identity. Banning identity-oriented Kurdish works and calling them "counter-revolutionary" is a direct assault on the cultural right of the Kurdish people.
• Violation of Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Which guarantees the right to participate in cultural life and support artistic activities. Creating a security atmosphere and threats against singers and musicians prevents the freedom of cultural and artistic activity.
• Violation of UNESCO's fundamental principles for the protection of artists and cultural diversity: Which obligates governments to protect the freedom of artistic creativity and cultural diversity, not to threaten and suppress artists for expressing their cultural identity.