Continued Crackdown in Mahshahr; Several Citizens Arrested by Security Forces

At least 14 Sunni citizens living in Mahshahr have been arrested in raids by the city’s security forces and transferred to unknown locations.

According to reports published in Iranian media, these Mahshahr residents were arrested on Wednesday, May 27 under various pretexts by security forces. Details of these arrested individuals have not been published in state media, and no opportunity has been provided for them and their families to respond to these actions.

This is not the first time citizens of this region have been suppressed or arrested by security forces. Last November, following nationwide protests in Iran and the outbreak of these demonstrations in Mahshahr, reports indicated the killing of protesting citizens who had fled to the marshes of this city and were subjected to heavy gunfire by armed military forces using DShK machine guns and heavy weapons.

Following multiple reports of killings in Mahshahr’s marshes and the publication of initial images of these killings, Islamic Republic officials confirmed the deaths of these protesters after a few days delay.

In mid-December 2019, Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a report condemned the extremely severe violence of the Iranian government in suppressing November protesters and warned about violations of the rights of detainees. She described the treatment of protesters in Mahshahr as the worst incidents during the protests and said: “According to information received, in Jaraahi Square in Mahshahr, Iranian security forces used heavy weapons against demonstrators – including individuals who were fleeing and people who were hiding in nearby marshes – which resulted in the deaths of at least 23 people and probably far more.”

In December of the same year, the U.S. State Department also issued a statement adding the name of the commander of the Vali-e Asr garrison of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Khuzestan Province to the list of U.S. sanctions, stating that Hassan Shahvarpour was sanctioned due to major human rights violations in handling the November protests in Mahshahr.

The U.S. State Department spokesperson, in a statement released on Saturday, December 18, said that according to multiple media reports and information that Iranian people sent to the department through a channel called “Justice Line,” units under Shahvarpour’s command in the Guards killed 148 people during the protests.