A group associated with the Kurdish separatist organization Pjak has claimed responsibility for the murder of Vali Haji Qulizadeh--a prosecutor in Iran's West Azerbayjan province. Qulizadeh, a former IRGC commander, was shot multiple times by assailants on a motorcycle in front of his home on the evening of 18 January. The People's Liberation Forces of East Kurdistan's statement, released in Turkish on the Firat News Agency website (and translated by OSC), blames Qulizadeh for the harsh treatment of political prisoners and for his role in the death sentences of two Pjak activists.
The murder of Qulizadeh is reminiscent of the the political murders committed by Jondollah in the Sistan and Baluchistan province. Although it's unclear if Pjak and its associates will embrace this tactic to the same extent as Jondollah, it is possible that opportunists have become encouraged by Iran's current political turmoil. More evidence of this is the recent failed bombing in Mashhad, which seemingly targeted the province's governor on 17 January. It is not yet known who the bomber was (he reportedly died as a result of the explosion), or what may have fueled the action, but a bomb exploding near the governor's office in Iran's second largest city is indeed a big deal. Government officials have not commented much on the event, but have insisted that the bombing was not politically motivated. Whether this is the case or not is impossible to know at this point.
[Photo: Pjak militants, Warzer Jaff for The New York Times]
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