Protests in Ahvaz Expand Daily with Increasing Arrests

As public demonstrations in Ahvaz and other Arab-populated cities enter their second week and the circle of protests widens, the pace of arrests of activists and ordinary citizens in these Khuzestan cities has accelerated. The number of detainees ranges between 100 to 160 people.

Human rights organizations have so far documented the detention of 100 people in the second week of protests by Arab people in Ahvaz. However, some local and international media outlets have reported the number of detainees as high as 160.

Arrests on the Charge of “Allahu Akbar”

Satar, a young resident of the Rafieesh district in Ahvaz, told Deutsche Welle about recent arrests: “They arrested my brother in front of my eyes. My father did everything he could, but the officers wouldn’t release my brother. We have no quarrel with anyone. We are careful that no one destroys anything to give them an excuse. All we do is chant slogans. They insulted us on television and we want an apology from them. Now that they won’t apologize, we chant ‘Allahu Akbar,’ but it seems they have a problem with that too.”

He continued: “Believe me, asking someone who has insulted you for an apology is not too much to ask. They put all ethnic groups on the map except Arabs. This is while we have been born and died here generation after generation. Whatever happens, our future generations will be born and die here.”

Regarding insults to Arab people, Mina Dris, an Arab artist and singer, had previously said at a ceremony presenting Ahvazi dolls to the Iranian Doll and Culture Museum: “Sometimes I think to myself that it would have been better if I were an Arab horse rather than a human. Because during a period in the south, Arabs were insulted so much, and for that reason, if I were a horse, I would have been happier in life; at least in the last 20 years of my life.”

State Media Takes a Step Back, Police Move Forward

Despite repeated requests from the people, representatives of Khuzestan in the Assembly of Experts, representatives of Ahvaz in the Iranian Parliament, and the Friday Imam of Ahvaz regarding the necessity of a formal apology to the Arab people of Ahvaz, none of the official state media authorities have responded to these requests. Only Mohammad Zareaan, the producer of the “See and Build” program on social networks, has apologized.

In the “See and Build” program on the second day of Farvardin 1397, dolls wearing the clothing of various ethnicities in Iran were placed on a map, but instead of an Arab doll, another doll was placed in the southwest of Iran.

On the other hand, despite the claim by Hossein Ashtari, commander of Iran’s police force, about controlling unrest “with people’s participation and proper scene management by police,” human rights organizations have so far published the details of 100 detained individuals. Some media outlets report the number of detainees as 160 people. There is no information available about the charges, conditions, place of detention, and trial procedures of the arrested individuals.

Beyond arrests, beatings, rubber bullet fire, and tear gas use have also been reported by security forces against the people. Images published on social networks show that in the cities of Ahvaz, Mahshahr, and Kut Abdullah, as well as in the areas of Ain 2, Kouy Alavi, and Naderi Street in Ahvaz, security forces have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the people.

New Demands

Following the fire at the Navares Coffeehouse in Kouy Alavi, Ahvaz on the evening of 13 Farvardin 97 (April 2) that killed 11 people, the mourning ceremonies for these individuals turned into a gathering place for protesters. On Wednesday evening, 15 Farvardin (April 4, 2018), hundreds of protesting people gathered in front of the Navares Coffeehouse and the streets leading to it, calling with slogans for the release and clarification of the fate of individuals detained in recent days.