Details of Widespread Arrests in Khuzestan; Aim is to ‘Instill Terror’ Among Iranian Arab Citizens
In recent days, news has been published about the arrest of at least 14 Sunni citizens living in Mahshahr and their transfer to unknown locations. Iranian media reported over the past few days the arrest of at least 14 Sunni citizens living in Mahshahr during security force raids in the city and their transfer to unknown locations; arrests that, according to Karim Dahimi, a human rights activist, were aimed at creating terror and suppression.
Karim Dahimi, a human rights activist, said on Tuesday, June 3, in an interview with Voice of America that every year before Eid al-Fitr, a number of Iranian Arab citizens and civil activists are arrested on a large scale. In previous years, these arrests were on the charge of performing prayers in the Sunni manner and outside locations designated by the system. However, this year the reason is the celebration, dancing, and singing by some of them in praise of the resistance of the people of Mahshahr and the resistance during last November.
According to this human rights activist, following widespread arrests of citizens in various cities of Khuzestan including Shushtar, Mahshahr, Susangerd, and Ahvaz, Islamic Republic authorities have accused these individuals of raising the flag of the “Ahvaz Movement,” and images have been published on social media in this regard without precise information about their location and time; images that according to Mr. Dahimi, in the past, Islamic Republic authorities have repeatedly used to spread fear and terror to suppress Iranian Arab citizens.
Mr. Dahimi reported the arrests that occurred in recent days as more than 60 people in Shushtar county, and the cities of Mahshahr, Susangerd, Ahvaz and some other cities of Khuzestan, and said that families of the arrested, despite referring to the press headquarters and revolutionary court in Shushtar and Mahshahr, have been unable to obtain precise information about the whereabouts of the detainees or the charges against them, and remain unaware of the fate of their children.
According to this human rights activist, a number of citizens of Shushtar county by the names of Hakim Kabi, Ali Badawi, Mohammad Badawi, Hamid Zaghbi, Ayyub Tarafi, Amer Rahimah, Hamid Agili (Aqili), and Mustafa Agili (Aqili) were arrested on Thursday, May 29, and another group of citizens in the Malashiyeh area south of Ahvaz by the names of Ibrahim Silawi, Qasim Silawi, Khaled Silawi, Jafar Silawi, Faisal Silawi, Ayyub Khuzraji, Yusuf Khuzraji, Jamil Silawi, Khalil Silawi, Ibrahim Kurshawi, Mohammad Krushat, Abdolkarim Khosraji, Mohammad Sharifi, Kazem Abbas Darjal, Riad Zahari, Sajad Al-Hai, and Hussein Baldi were arrested by security forces on June 1. He said these names were only part of the arrests that occurred in recent days.
Mr. Dahimi also identified the identity of six of at least 14 Sunni citizens living in Mahshahr who were arrested on Wednesday, May 28, under various pretexts during security force raids on the city and transferred to unknown locations, as Hossam Gargouli, Mehdi Sheikhani, Abdolrahman Rashidi, Hussein Shamani Tamimi, Jamal Nisi, and Karim Dahlawi, and said that information about the identity of other detainees is not yet available.
This human rights activist told Voice of America that Islamic Republic authorities, by filing cases and accusing Iranian Arab activists, want to suppress any peaceful activities against the system and silence the voices of protesters; this is unfortunately a procedure that Iranian Arab citizens have been suffering from for several years.
Source: Voice of America
