Execution, Shootings, and Discrimination: UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato Emphasizes Widespread Violations of Baloch Rights in Iran
According to the Balochistan Human Rights Group, on Thursday, October 30, 2025, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ms. Mai Sato, released her periodic report on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, focusing on the period from January 1 to July 21, 2025 (December 21, 2024, to July 12, 2025). The report examines human rights violations across Iran and specifically addresses the situation in Balochistan and the Baloch people in several sections.
In one part of the report, it states that during the reviewed period, in addition to reports concerning kolbars in the Kurdistan regions, at least 71 fuel porters in Sistan and Baluchestan Province were extrajudicially killed, and 54 others were injured. It further notes that landmines pose a serious threat to the lives of people in these areas, particularly Baloch fuel porters, with numerous reports of mine explosions on paths used by the Baloch people.
The footnotes in this section specifically reference the “Monthly Newsletter of the Balochistan Human Rights Group,” indicating that data and documentation related to the killings of fuel porters and border shootings were drawn from field reports by human rights activist groups in Balochistan.
In another section of the UN report on executions, it states that although the Baloch constitute about two to four percent of Iran’s total population, they account for more than nineteen percent of all executions related to drug offenses. It also emphasizes that Kurds, who make up about nine to ten percent of the country’s population, comprise more than half of the security-related executions.
The report continues that many drug-related executions involve Baloch citizens. Factors such as lack of identity documents, poverty, absence of fair trial guarantees, and the use of forced confessions are cited as the primary reasons for these convictions. In some cases, drivers unaware of drugs in their trucks have been executed.
In another part of the UN report, arbitrary detentions and the use of violence against citizens are addressed: On June 24, 2025 (July 14, 2025), Yasin Bakrpushideh, a Baloch citizen, was detained by plainclothes forces while returning from work in Marivan, and his whereabouts remain unknown. A few days later, on July 1, 2025 (July 11, 2025), in the village of Gunich in Balochistan, Iranian forces used live ammunition against the people, resulting in at least 10 villagers being injured and the deaths of two Baloch women, followed by the death of Amir Hamzeh Mirbaluchzehi. According to the report, he was shot by police while walking in the street and, after 10 days in the hospital, succumbed to his injuries.
The report further references joint reports from civil society organizations documenting violence by security forces against Baloch protesters, including numerous instances of direct shooting at unarmed people.
In another section, the report notes that many Baloch families, due to lacking official identification documents such as birth certificates or national ID cards, are deprived of administrative affairs and basic services. This situation is described as one of the indicators of structural discrimination against the Baloch people in Iran’s administrative system.
In the concluding sections, the Special Rapporteur addresses Iran’s broader policies on the transfer of natural resources and development projects, stating that their implementation in minority-inhabited areas, including Sistan and Baluchestan, has exacerbated environmental problems, poverty, and forced displacement of people.
In summarizing the report, it is emphasized that Balochistan is among the regions with the highest recorded human rights violations, ranging from extrajudicial killings of fuel porters to widespread executions, arbitrary detentions, structural discrimination, and severe suppression of the Baloch people. In conclusion, the Special Rapporteur has called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately end these trends and ensure access to justice, equality, and fair trials for the people of Iran and the Baloch.
