Amnesty International has called on Iranian authorities to cease their attacks on Balcoh protesters and worshipers. According to Balochistan Human Rights Group today October 26,2023 Amnesty International announced a new wave of “brutal attacks” against Baloch protesters and worshipers in the Sistan and Balochestan provinces, urging Iranian authorities not to resort to “unlawful use of force” during the protests in Zahedan.
Amnesty International, in its statement, confirmed that on the previous Friday, security forces resorted to the “unlawful use of tear gas and water cannons, severely beat and injured protesters, engaged in arbitrary mass arrests, enforced disappearances, and other forms of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.”
The organization stated that the evidence it has obtained “presents a grim picture of violence and cruelty against thousands of peaceful worshipers and protesters, including young children.”
Diana Eltahawy, Director of the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, stated in the release: “Authorities have intensified their brutal crackdown to prevent the weekly gatherings of Baluch protesters in Zahedan.”
She called on world governments to “immediately demand that Iranian authorities stop the unlawful use of force and firearms against peaceful protesters, halt the practice of torture and arbitrary detentions, and release children and all others detained solely for exercising their peaceful rights.”
Previously, Molavi Abdulhamid Ismaeilzahi, a popular cleric and Friday Prayer Leader of Zahedan, had described the presence of military and security forces around the Makki Mosque and the Grand Mosque of Zahedan during the extensive arrests of worshipers and people in Zahedan on Friday as “provocative.”
It’s worth noting that Balochistan was one of the provinces with the most significant protests during the nationwide demonstrations in 2022, which also witnessed the highest number of casualties. During the “Bloody Friday of Zahedan” on September 30,2022 , one hundred and seven people, including children, were killed by the security and law enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic.
