For some time now, thousands of members of Iran’s oppressed Baloch minority have been holding protests every Friday in Zahedan, Sistan and Balochistan province. On October 20, the Iranian authorities’ relentless crackdown on peaceful protests intensified: security forces beat protesters and illegally used tear gas and water cannons. Dozens of people were arbitrarily arrested, subjected to enforced disappearances, and were tortured or otherwise ill-treated.
Evidence gathered by Amnesty International, including eyewitness interviews and video footage, paints a grim picture of brutality against thousands of believers and peaceful protesters. This includes children from the age of ten. Hundreds of people, including many children, were violently arrested. Many are still “missing”. Both minors and adult detainees were tortured and ill-treated. For example, they were beaten or injured by paintball guns fired at close range.
“The authorities are using increasingly brutal measures to prevent Baloch protesters from gathering in Zahedan every week. The international community must urgently call on the Iranian authorities to stop the illegal use of force and firearms against peaceful protesters “The torture of prisoners must stop and children must stop. and all other people detained simply for peacefully exercising their rights must be released,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. .
This new wave of torture against protesters in Iran, which also affects children, was facilitated by systemic impunity in that country. This shows once again how important it is for states around the world to initiate criminal investigations into the crimes of the Iranian authorities under international law, under the principle of universal law.
Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
Illegal use of tear gas and firearms
Witnesses told Amnesty International that after the end of Friday prayers on 20 October 2023, security forces threw stones at thousands of worshipers who were peacefully leaving the Great Mosalla of Zahedan (a prayer house near the main mosque). After around 1,000 protesters marched peacefully down Razi Street from the place of worship, security forces surrounded thousands of worshipers trying to leave the place of worship and asked them to wait until “the situation calms down”.
A few minutes later, security forces illegally fired tear gas and occasionally shotguns at peaceful protesters. An eyewitness reported that several young men had metal balls stuck to their heads and chests. A small minority of protesters then began throwing stones.
The demonstration ended after security forces fired shots and sprayed a yellow liquid from water cannons. The latter facilitated the subsequent identification and arrest of duly marked people. Fleeing protesters were chased, beaten and arrested by security forces, including children.
I saw the security forces beat children as young as ten years old, young people and the elderly with batons… They dragged protest participants along the ground, punching and kicking them.
eyewitness
Eyewitnesses also reported that security forces fired tear gas at the Makki Grand Mosque in Zahedan after hundreds of peaceful protesters sought refuge there, and that they violently arrested personnel guarding the entrance.
Security forces reportedly continued to arrest people even after the protests had dispersed, targeting both those suspected of taking part in the protests and those who filmed the events from a nearby residence.
The security forces involved included Iranian police special forces (yegan-vijeh), uniformed Revolutionary Guards and plainclothes forces, some wearing traditional Baluchi clothing and face masks.
Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab analyzed 32 videos and images from October 20, 2023 that corroborated eyewitness accounts. Five videos and images show young children with open wounds or head injuries.
Mass arrests and torture, including against children
Security forces also detained hundreds of worshipers near Great Mosalla, Zahedan’s main place of worship. Others were beaten and warned not to attend Friday prayers in the future.
Detainees were taken to the Emam Ali Sports Complex and beaten before being transferred to detention centers run by the Revolutionary Guard, the Ministry of Intelligence or the police. According to their own statements, they continued to be tortured and mistreated there. Some were later released or transferred to Zahedan Central Prison or, in the case of some children, to a juvenile detention center.
A person who was allowed to visit two related children reported that they reported being beaten with batons. Another person told Amnesty International that authorities ordered the detention of her two children for 30 days without revealing their whereabouts.
Amnesty International has received reports of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, including children, during transfer to and within detention centers.
A relative of a released adult prisoner said security forces repeatedly punched and kicked detainees in the face and body: “Many prisoners, including children, suffered fractures to their hands and legs… I saw a child with an open wound on Wange’s back. The security forces abandoned him somewhere in the city without taking him to a clinic.”
He also described how security forces removed the detainees’ shirts and blindfolded them against the wall before shooting them at close range with paintball guns in the back and hips.
He provided Amnesty International with a photograph showing deep wounds on a victim’s body.
Expect more violence
According to eyewitness accounts, on the morning of the incident, the number of security forces visibly increased in Zahedan and new checkpoints were created on roads leading to the place of worship, suggesting a targeted operation.
Amnesty International believes the latest escalation is linked to increased efforts to suppress weekly protests in Zahedan. Haalvsh, a Baloch human rights organization outside Iran, reported that Iranian police chief Ahmadreza Radan threatened local tribal and religious leaders in September 2023 during weekly protests. These weekly protests have been occurring since the national “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest movement broke out more than a year ago.
People in Zahedan fear authorities are preparing for more bloodshed. One woman called on Amnesty International to “ensure that the voices of Baloch protesters are heard as we have been subjected to a violent crackdown for a year. Our situation is catastrophic and more horrific incidents could occur every Friday.”
Amnesty International reiterates its call on the international community to urge the Iranian authorities to allow the UN Commission of Inquiry unrestricted access to the country to investigate human rights violations related to the nationwide protests.
Human rights in Iran
More about this