Iran Executes 3 Ahwazi Arab Political Prisoners and kills another one under torture

Sources of the Ahwaz Human Rights Organization reported that the death sentences of Ali Khasraji, Hossein Silawi and Jasem Heidary, three Ahwazi Arab political prisoners, was carried out in the Sepidar prison of Ahwaz this morning, 1 March 2021.

 

Sources said that security officials have also included Nasser Khafajian among the executed individuals, although he had been tortured to death during Sepidar prison protests last year.

 

According to human rights activists, the Ahwaz Intelligence Office contacted the families of these prisoners a day before, and asked them to go to security center situated in Chahar Shir area of Ahwaz. Once the families arrived, they were transported to Sepidar Prison in intelligence service vehicles to visit their children. During the meeting, the prisoners announced the imminent execution of their death sentence.

 

Earlier in November 2020, the Supreme Court of Iran upheld the death sentence of Jasem Heidary on charges of "collaborating with opposition groups" and "“armed rebellion against the state” (baghi)." This prisoner was arrested upon his return from Austria in December 2017 and was first transferred to Evin Prison and then to Ahwaz Intelligence Office Detention Center.

 

Amnesty International has previously written to the head of Iran's judiciary,  Ebrahim Raeisi calling for the death sentences of Jassem Heydari and three other prisoners to be overturned. The statement reads:

 

‘’We ask you to immediately reveal the fate and whereabouts of Naser Khafajian and stop any plans to execute him and Ali Khasraji, Hossein Silawi and Jasem Heidary. Their convictions and death sentences must be quashed, and they must be granted fair retrials, without recourse to the death penalty and excluding torture-tainted “confessions”

 

Ahwaz Human Rights Organization strongly condemns the secret execution of Ahwazi Arab political prisoners who were sentenced to death during unfair trials without observing the minimum international standards, and urges the international human rights organizations, especially UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, to condemn the organized crime of the Islamic Republic of Iran against defenseless prisoners and take immediate action to rescue other prisoners sentenced to death.

 

Ahwaz Human Rights Organization

1 March 2021

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Last Updated: 01 March 2021

Iranian Security Arrests Five Female Ahwazi Cultural Activist

Following the wave of arrests of Ahwazi Arab women activists, which began last Wednesday with the arrest of Fatema Tamimi, four other women were arrested, bringing the total number of detainees to seven, including five women. In the latest case, Fatema Savari was arrested in the city of Howeyzeh.

According to local sources of Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (AHRO), on Friday evening, December 11th, the Iranian security forces arrested Fatemeh Savari, a cultural activist from Howeyzeh. Fatemeh Savari is the aunt of Zeinab Savari, who was arrested a day earlier in Roffayeh city in Ahwaz region.

Zeinab Savari is a social sciences student and Fatemeh Savari is a teacher. During the Corona crisis, they volunteered to go to deprived areas and villages around Haweyzeh and Roffayeh to teach students who did not have access to online education.

During the past few days, Fatema Tamimi, 39 years old and mother of two, was arrested in the city of Jarahi in Ma’ashour (Mahshahr) and her colleague Maryam Ameri was arrested in Ahwaz, both transferred to an undisclosed location.

Ameri and Tamimi had collected stories, lullabies and Arabic folk songs to record the Ahwazi oral literature. Tamimi's Instagram account is followed by more than 25,000 people. The result of their work was a 20 part documentary. So far, Mrs Tamimi has produced several short documentaries on poverty, addiction, unemployment and the social problems of the Arab people of Ahwaz.

Earlier, Azhar Alboghobeish, along with her two brothers, Abbas and Reza, were arrested in Fallahieh (Shadegan) for their social media activities. They are all under the age of 20.

The ongoing floods in Ahwaz and surrounding cities are among the most important issues that Tamimi had addressed and reported on. In her reports, in addition to the causes of floods and its related issues, she discussed the effects and consequences of floods on social structures in Arab regions.

So far, no information has been released by the Iranian government about the reasons for these widespread arrests, and no charges have been filed against the detainees. Efforts by the families of these individuals to find out their whereabouts have not yet been successful.


Ahwaz Human Rights Organization strongly condemns this new wave of arrest against Ahwazi Arab cultural activists who carried out all their activities peacefully and in accordance with the Iranian government’s laws.

AHRO sees these measures as an attempt by the Iranian government to divert peaceful activism and is aiming at creating an excuse to suppress these activists. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of all the detainees.

Ahwaz Human Rights Organization
12/12/2020

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Last Updated: 12 December 2020