Hundreds of Ahvaz Residents Arrested in Mehregan Month

A group of human rights activists say that following the terrorist attack in Ahvaz, not only intellectuals, civil, cultural and religious activists among Iranian Arabs have been arrested, but also children and women of some of them have been imprisoned.

A group of human rights activists inside and outside the country report that hundreds of Arabs have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the terrorist attack in Ahvaz, and the location of detention for many of them is unclear.

The Human Rights Defenders Center condemned recent arrests and the “illegal behavior of security forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps” and described this process as “reminiscent of Turkey’s government behavior following the failed coup in that country.”

In a statement from this human rights organization, signed by Shirin Ebadi, its head, it stated: “The Islamic Republic of Iran, by exploiting the conditions created after the armed attack on the armed forces parade in Ahvaz, proceeded to arrest a large number of citizens from Khuzestan province, mainly from the city of Ahvaz… According to family statements, more than 500 people were arrested in the Mehregan month, and the place of detention for most of them is also unclear.”

The Human Rights Defenders Center statement, expressing concern that the detainees are deprived of all their legal rights, including the right to access a lawyer and visit with family, deemed “blind detention” and securitization of the region as causing greater dissatisfaction.

Detention of Women and Children of Ethnic Activists

Simultaneously, another statement signed by the “Iran Anti-Racism Campaign,” “Monitoring Human Rights in Ahvaz,” and a group of activists inside and outside Iran, notes that no one dares to question courts and security agencies because they themselves will be detained: “It appears that the security apparatus of the Islamic Republic, using the aforementioned attack as a pretext, does whatever they want to the Arab people. They are trying to eradicate any independent cultural and civil activity in the province through creating an atmosphere of terror and prison and torture and execution.”

The statement notes that the officials of the Islamic Republic initially introduced foreign countries and separatist forces as responsible for the Ahvaz attack and after a while said this was the work of ISIS: “But now arrests include intellectuals, civil, cultural and religious activists who basically believe in peaceful and popular activity.”

The statement emphasizes that the arrest process has gone even further, and in some cases children and women of detained persons have been imprisoned “as hostages.”

The statement lists the names of 26 of the detainees. 23 of them are residents of Malashiyeh neighborhood in Ahvaz. Two are residents of Al-Safi neighborhood in Ahvaz and another resident of Zouyeh Ameri (Mellat neighborhood).

The signatories of the statement asked activists, figures and political and human rights organizations to work for the release of their Arab compatriots and to be the voice of the voiceless. The statement notes that the Islamic Republic system, by not understanding the demands of “ethnic groups and their democratic aspirations,” by resorting to force and repression, increases tensions and insecurity and unrest in these regions.

Source: DW