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Politics

Day 35: Violence Rocks Restive South-Eastern Iran City Amid Continued Protests

October 22, 2022
Shohreh Mehrnami
5 min read
Dozens of people were reportedly arrested in Zahedan, home to an ethnic Baluch population. The city was the scene of a crackdown last month that claimed more than 80 lives
Dozens of people were reportedly arrested in Zahedan, home to an ethnic Baluch population. The city was the scene of a crackdown last month that claimed more than 80 lives

The south-eastern Iranian city of Zahedan awoke to new destruction on Saturday, as the country passed its 35th night of nationwide anti-government rallies and security forces continued their heavy-handed repression against activists.  

Protests and strikes also erupted in cities across Iran on Saturday, the latest unrest in the wave of public anger sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in hospital on September 16, three days after her arrest for allegedly wearing a hijab, or head scarf, improperly.   

At least 215 people, including 27 children, have been killed in the government crackdown against the protest movement, according to one human rights organization. Attacks against schoolchildren have caused public outrage in many cities.    

"Death to the dictator"  

Zahedan, home to an ethnic Baluch population, was the scene of a crackdown against protesters last month that claimed more than 80 lives. 

New violence erupted after Friday prayers when people took to the streets chanting slogans such as "From Zahedan to Tehran, I sacrifice my life for Iran" and "Death to the dictator", in a reference to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.  

Police arrested at least 57 "rioters" after demonstrators hurled stones at motorists and damaged banks and other private property, the official news agency IRNA quoted provincial police chief Ahmad Taheri as saying.  

“Don't be afraid” 

Students gathered at Zahedan University on Saturday and vowed to continue their protest despite the crackdown.  

In the north-west, video clips showed security forces using an ambulance to enter Tabriz University. Footage obtained by IranWire shows students chanting against the regime.  

Male and female students at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran mixed in the restaurant, while women removed their hijab. 

In the southern city of Ahvaz, a source told IranWire that male and female students planned to have lunch together in the dining hall of Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences “in protest against gender segregation laws.” 

"I wanted you to know that students here are not silent either, only the internet blockade prevents them from sending videos or images." 

In the north-west, various areas of Mashhad were the scene of angry protests. One videos shot in the city shows demonstrators chanting "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, we are all together". 

In Europe, more than 50,000 people gathered in Berlin to expressed solidarity with the protest movement in Iran, German media reported. 

Rally participants held pictures of Amini and victims of the government crackdown, and chanted slogans against the Iranian leadership.  

Continued repression against activists  

Meanwhile, repression against civil and political activists continued across the country.  

Arab activists in the southern province of Khuzestan reported the death of a young man after he was detained by security agents in the provincial capital, Ahvaz.  

Ali Bani Asad, 20, was not involved in any political activity and did not attend recent protests held in Ahvaz, according to a report by the Harana website.   

The report quoted an informed source as saying he was arrested by intelligence agency officers last week on suspicion of carrying weapons. On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told his family he had lost his life and that they should come to collect his body.  

Earlier, IranWire received a report about the dramatic fate of another man who had been summoned to the detention center of the Ministry of Intelligence.   

"Emad Heydari, like many civil and cultural activists of Khuzestan province, was summoned to the intelligence department of the Ahvaz Corps in early October. He went there on his feet, but 10 days later his body was handed over to his family."  

Also in Ahvaz, journalist Mehrnoosh Tafian and Ashkan Shamipour, manager of the Instagram page Old Ahvaz, have been arrested for supporting the nationwide protests. Their fates remain unknown two weeks after their arrest.   

Saba Rayani and Laili Hazrati, two students who participated in protests in the port city of Bushehr have been abducted in front of the entrance of the Persian Gulf University by officers in plain clothes and taken to an unknown location.  

Azin Saeedi Nesab, a 21-year-old environmental student at Tehran University, has been held by security forces for the past month. None of his friends and relatives has been able to receive information about his whereabouts.  

More than three weeks have passed since the arrest, Aida Rasti Qalati, a citizen of the Baha'i faith who is being held in Tehran’s Evin prison. She has been denied the right to see a lawyer and her family. Repeated appeals by the family to the Evin Prosecutor's Office have so far been unsuccessful.  

According to IranWire reports, four prominent inmates held in Evin -- Ali Younisi, Amir Hossein Moradi, Mohammad Ali Najafi, and Mohammad Nourizad -- were separated from the other political prisoners in Ward 4 and taken to a closed hall in the same prison.  

The Prisons Organization, which is responsible for maintaining the health and safety of all prisoners, has transferred well-known political prisoners to another location. There is still no news about the fate of some prisoners since a fire rocked Evin prison last week.   

Teenagers go missing  

Human rights organizations announced that at least 6 teenage girls from Javanrood, in the western Kermanshah province, have been arrested in recent days following a raid on a high school by security agents.  

It was reported that Kimia Alimoradi, Sandes Yaqoubi, Hiro Nouri, Elina Ranjbar, Raha Sabouri and Sara Karmi, are aged 17.   

Washington turns to Musk’s satellite internet for Iran  

CNN reported that the White House is in talks with billionaire Elon Musk about the possibility of setting up SpaceX's satellite internet service Starlink inside Iran to support the protest movement there.  

The satellite-based broadband service could help Iranians circumvent government restrictions on accessing the internet and social media platforms. Iranian activists say videos of protests have been delayed because of the curbs.  

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