Continued Reactions to Display of Afghan Migrants ‘In Cage’
Following widespread coverage of the display of a number of Afghan citizens in a cage by law enforcement in Shiraz on Saturday, September 10th, the police force of Fars Province denied the report, claiming that those displayed were “thieves and criminals.”
According to Fariba Estevaari, the social deputy of the police force in Fars Province, reporting to Fars News Agency on Saturday, the news circulated in cyberspace regarding the display of foreign nationals in the province was labeled “false,” and she stated that the images published in the media “do not belong to this province.”
On the other hand, Bahram Parsai, one of Shiraz’s representatives in Parliament, told ISNA news agency on Saturday that according to explanations from the Fars Province police force, the arrest images attributed to foreign nationals are not accurate; rather, these individuals were “criminals, armed robbers, and smugglers.”
These statements came even as one of the photos published in the media bore the caption “arrest of foreign nationals” at a location where barriers similar to a cage had been set up.
Nea’mat Ahmadi, a legal expert, university professor, and lawyer in Tehran, told Radio Farda that “even assuming that these individuals were not Afghan citizens, their display or the permission to publish their photos is unlawful.”
Regarding the reason for such conduct by Shiraz law enforcement, Said Piavandi, a sociologist and university professor in Paris, told Radio Farda that “cultural vacuum regarding how to live with non-Iranian citizens, including xenophobia and such conduct, has created the conditions for this behavior.”
Hafiz Ahmad Miyakhel, the press advisor to Afghanistan’s minister of refugees and repatriation, condemned the act on Saturday in an interview with Radio Farda and described it as “against human dignity.”
The police force held an exhibition on Tuesday, September 16th, showcasing the “findings of Shiraz police stations over the past 48 hours,” which displayed some of the confiscated goods seized by the force, including narcotics, alcoholic beverages, and “unauthorized” films.
The images published regarding Afghan citizens also related to this exhibition; a number of “Afghan citizens” who had been arrested for not having residency permits in Iran were displayed while their eyes were covered with white cloth and metal barriers were drawn around them.
The “display of Afghan citizens in barriers” resulted in numerous protesting reactions from Iranian and Afghan users in cyberspace.
Source: Radio Farda
