Dozens of Protesters Arrested in Ardabil

On Saturday, October 15, 2022, the city of Ardabil, northwestern Iran, witnessed one of the largest anti-government protests in the last decade following the news of a killing of a school student in Ardabil by the Islamic Republic's security forces. 

In a rare incident, Ardabili protesters clashed in a one-to-one fight with security and police forces. The angry protesters of Ardabil blocked the streets and chanted anti-government slogans such as "Death to the dictator;" and "Azerbaijani girls, stars of the sky (in Azeri language). In response, the agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran tried to suppress the people by directly firing bullets and tear gas and driving their cars toward the protesters to run them over. 

According to the reports received by Iranwire, the Islamic Republic of Iran arrested at least 50 citizens of Ardabili and injured several others during the protests. 

As unrest persists, there continues to be a vast amount of arrests, forcing the transfer of some detainees to Ardabil prison in the past month. There is no new information about the fate of other detainees.

Eight civil activists from Ardabili, who were arrested in the nationwide protests in response to the killing of Mahsa Amini, are still incarcerated in the central prison of this city. 

Furthermore, Kamiar Salim, the investigator of the 7th branch of the Ardabil Public and the Revolution Prosecutor's Office, has not given any clear answers to the families of Asgar Akbarzadeh, Saeed Sadeghifar, Meysham Jolani, Yashar Akbarzadeh, Yousef Kari, Sajad Ghanemoghadam, Mohammed Jolani, and Firouz Moini. He has refused to accept the bail order issued for these citizens and rejected the issue of a temporary release order.