Amnesty Urges Iran To End Brutal Crackdown On Baluch Protesters

Amnesty International has called on Iran to cease the "unlawful use of force" in response to the upcoming Friday protests in Zahedan.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the human rights organization urged the regime's authorities to "refrain from unlawfully deploying repressive forces during the upcoming Friday protests and to respect the right to peaceful assembly."

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in the statement, “The authorities are ramping up their brutality to stop Baluchi protesters from gathering each week in Zahedan.”

She called upon governments worldwide to “urgently call on the Iranian authorities to halt the unlawful use of force and firearms against peaceful protesters, stop torturing detainees and release children and all others detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights.”

Earlier, human rights media had reported the names of 112 citizens detained during the protests in Zahedan the previous Friday, including 33 children. Among the detainees is Mowlavi Fazl ul-Rahman Kouhi, the prayer leader of the village of Pashamag in Sarbaz County, Sistan and Baluchestan. No information is available regarding the charges or the whereabouts of these individuals.

Sistan and Baluchestan province was one of the regions with the highest number of protests during the nationwide protests which began last year in addition to the highest number of casualties. During the 'Bloody Zahedan Friday' on September 30 last year, nearly a hundred people, including children, were killed by the regime's security forces.